Bhubaneswar: The Congress has finalised the names of around 70 candidates to be fielded in Odisha Assembly elections in 2024, said senior party leader Taraprasad Bahinipati on Tuesday.
Speaking to media persons, Bahinipati said since the Assembly elections are a few months away, the Congress has shortlisted the candidates. The party has sounded the probable candidates to gear up for the campaign and mobilising the workers and supporters, he added.
On the list of candidates, the MLA said the ticket distribution will be started in February. “The party tickets will be given to known faces and winnability of the candidate which would be decided on the basis of a survey conducted in the constituencies. It has been decided that 9 present MLAs will contest in 2024 elections,” he added.
On factionalism in state Congress, Bahinipati said all the party leaders have decided to close the ranks and put up a united fight to dislodge the BJD from power. “We do not have any factionalism as in BJD and BJP. Take my case. There were some differences between Koraput MP and myself. I went to his house and we sorted out the problems. All of us will ride a common bus to fight in the elections,” he said.
The MLA also hinted that several prominent persons will join the Congress during the visit of Rahul Gandhi and several senior leaders of the party to the state in February.
