Odisha: Eye on 2024 polls, CM Naveen Patnaik launches outreach march

BHUBANSWAR: BJD president and chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday launched the party’s annual Jan Sampark Padyatra, the mass contact programme at the Kargil slum under the Ekamra-Bhubaneswar assembly segment to mark Gandhi Jayanti.
The padyatra,will culminate on November 2 with a mass pledge ceremony.
The ruling dispensation, in power since March 2000 and currently in its fifth term, has prepared a roadmap to reach out to the people with the development message and welfare measures of the BJD government through the padyatra.The BJD leaders said the padyatra will help them understand and resolve the issues and problems faced by the people.
As hundreds of party workers, including MPs and MLAs will march from one panchayat area to another during the month-long programme, the ruling dispensation will also try hard to counter the opposition narratives and beat anti-incumbency through the people-connect exercise.
While the exercise could not be held properly due to the Covid-19 restrictions, this year’s programme assumes significance in view of the forthcoming general and assembly polls due in 2024 as the party has been eying a sixth term.
The chief minister, who recently during a preparatory meeting of the party urged the party leaders to remain with the people and to serve them in order to win their confidence, on Sunday urged them to make the padyatra a success.
“Odisha has seen massive development under the leadership of chief minister because of which the people have been blessing us since past two decades. The party has now turned into a people’s movement. As said by our leader, politics for us is a medium to serve the people. The party workers will spread the message during the padyatra,” said the party’s senior vice-president Debi Prasad Mishra, who attended the launch of the padyatra.