Bhubaneswar: Biramitrapur, a small industrial town in Sundargarh district, has been decked up with banners, cut-outs and hoardings to welcome Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, which is scheduled to enter Odisha on Tuesday afternoon.
Senior state Congress leaders are camping in Rourkela steel city, around 35 km from Biramitrapur, and there is a palpable enthusiasm among the people to have a glimpse of Rahul Gandhi, party’s Sundergarh district president Rashmi Padhee told the media.
Rahul, who is referred to as “former PM Indira Gandhi’s grandson” by locals, is scheduled to address three public rallies in Sundargarh district on Wednesday.
After entering Biramitrapur in Sundargarh district from Ranchi, the yatra will continue for about 11 km and reach Bijbahal where Rahul will stay overnight. The following morning, Rahul will resume his yatra from near Rourkela SP office and undertake a 3.4-km-long padayatra from Uditnagar to Panposh Chhak in the city. He will address a public gathering at Panposh Chhak at 10.30 am, before taking a lunch break at Bisra Munda Ground at Ranibandh, and two more gatherings at Kutra and Baragaon later in the afternoon.
Thereafter, he will resume his yatra from Ranibandh and address a rally at Rajgangpur. He will undertake another 1-km padayatra in Sundargarh town from Bus Stand Chhak Sundargarh via Stadium Chhak to SBI Chhak, following which he will address another public meeting, before retiring for the night at Amlipali Ground in Jharsuguda.
On Thursday, Rahul will resume his yatra from Old Bus Stand in Jharsuguda and later address a rally. After lunch, he will resume his yatra from Kanaktora in Jharsuguda and then enter Chhattisgarh.
Coming close on the heels of AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge’s visit, Rahul’s Nyaya Yatra is expected to boost the morale of the party leaders and workers in Odisha ahead of the elections. Kharge visited Bhubaneswar on January 29 and addressed the Odisha Bachao Samavesh.
On February 3, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had addressed his first public rally in Odisha in five years during one-day trip to Sambalpur, where he lashed out at the Congress for “neglecting and insulting Odisha”, but remained silent over the 24-year rule of the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD government.
In a related development, the AICC on Monday constituted a campaign committee in Odisha. While bureaucrat-turned-Congress leader Bijay Kumar Patnaik has been appointed as the committee’s chairman, MLAs Suresh Routray and Ramesh Jena have been made vice-chairmen. The committee has 19 permanent invitees.
