Balangir/Bhubaneswar: Union Minister & senior BJP leader Amit Shah and Congress star campaigner Rahul Gandhi will be in Odisha on Wednesday to intensify electioneering for their respective parties ahead of the second-round elections in the state on May 20.
According to Congress sources, Rahul will embark on a bike rally after landing at Balangir around 11.15 am. “The bike rally will commence at RTO Chhak and culminate at Kalamandal Chhak,” Congress candidate for Balangir Assembly constituency Samarendra Mishra told the media.
The Congress scion will then address a public meeting at Koshal Kalamandal field from 11.30 am -1 pm.
Shah will arrive in Bhubaneswar around 12.30 pm. He will then proceed to Soroda in Ganjam district in a special flight at 1.30 pm and address a public rally. Boudh is the next stop for the BJP stalwart and he is expected to reach there around 3.30 pm. He will then return to Cuttack to take part in a massive roadshow in the city at 6 pm after landing at a temporary helipad near Bali Jatra ground.
The roadshow will begin from Gopabandhu park, cover several important junctions in Cuttack, including Buxi Bazaar, Tinikonia Bagicha, Dargha Bazaar, Choudhry Bazaar, Naya Sarak, Balu Bazaar, Chandni Chhak and Mohammadia Bazaar and culminate at Chandi Mandir Chhak.
BJP national president J P Nadda is also expected to arrive in Odisha in the evening on a two-day visit. His itinerary includes a Mahila Samavesh (women convention) in Bhubaneswar, on May 15 and public rallies in Padampur in Bargarh and Sundargarh on May 16. He will also address a rally in Hinjili, the home turf of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik from where he is seeking re-election for the sixth term.
Lok Sabha Speaker & two-time BJP MP Om Birla is also in the state and is scheduled to attend a public meeting in Balasore.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge will also be in Odisha on May 16 and attend a public meeting in Kandhamal. He is also scheduled to address a press conference on the same day in Bhubaneswar, according to Odisha Congress in-charge Ajoy Kumar.
Notably, Rahul had launched his election campaign for Congress in Odisha from Salepur in Cuttack district on April 28. He, however, had to addressed an election rally in Rayagada district under Koraput Lok Sabha constituency through a video message on May 3 as he was preoccupied with filing of his nomination papers for Raebareli Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also scheduled to visit Odisha again on May 20. He will hold a roadshow in Puri in the morning and later address two rallies in Cuttack and Angul. This will be PM Modi’s third visit to the state within a span of two weeks. Modi had earlier conducted a roadshow in Bhubaneswar.
