Bhubaneswar: Naveen Niwas in Odisha capital was abuzz with activity as BJD leaders descended at the residence of party president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for a review meeting on Thursday.
According to sources, the party’s performance in bypolls will be reviewed at the meeting which will also discuss plans for 2024, when the twin elections are scheduled.
BJD organisational secretary Pranab Prakash Das, Sushanta Singh, Prasanna Acharya, Debi Mishra and other party leaders, who were tasked with Padampur where the party registered a spectacular win earlier this month, were seen arriving at the CM’s residence.
They are also likely to discuss the reports submitted by the leaders about the promises made to the electorate during the bypolls and problems in different panchayats.
As the meeting was seen as a team building exercise by the ruling party ahead of 2024 polls, Naveen also hosted a lunch to those leaders who worked hard to ensure victory for BJD in Padampur.
Besides, BJD must also be ready for simultaneous Assembly polls if Lok Sabha elections are held early. The party not only has to counter anti-incumbency being in power for five consecutive terms but also dissidents with Dhamnagar bypoll a case in point, while further strengthening the party apparatus. The BJD also has to check the possible inroads that the BJP is making in the state.
It is pertinent to mention here that Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan last week claimed that assembly elections may be preponed in the state by 8-15 months and held next year while responding to media queries on the impact of Padampur bypoll on his party’s 2024 plan in Odisha.
“I have heard there may be an early election in the state. But whether it is held eight or 15 months later, there is time. Many developments will happen before that. Let’s watch ahead,” he said.
Assembly elections are usually held in Odisha simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls.
