Rahul To Visit Odisha On Jan 25

Bhubaneswar: Congress president Rahul Gandhi will visit Odisha on January 25, OPCC chief Niranjan Patnaik informed on Monday.

The Congress president’s visit assumes significance as Odisha is headed for both state assembly elections as well as the Lok Sabha polls, slated in May this year.

His visit also comes against the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s back-to-back tour of the State — on December 24 and January 5. Modi will make a third trip to the State on January 15.

Niranjan said Gandhi will address the party workers in Bhubaneswar and also address a public meeting at a coastal district, the place and venue of which is being worked out.

It is expected that Gandhi will kick off the election campaign at the rally for Congress in the State and take on the ruling BJD as well as the BJP government at the Centre. During his rally at Baripada on January 5, the PM had castigated Gandhi in the manner in which he had raked up the controversial Rafale deal in Parliament, compromising with national security.

Gandhi’s visit will be keenly watched by political observers as Congress is desperately seeking to regain lost grounds and consolidate its base ahead of the polls.

After the announcement of poll results in the three Hindi-heartland states in December last year, an elated Niranjan had said that Congress will repeat the success in Odisha as well.

“After Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, I hope the same will repeat here in Odisha where people will reject the ruling BJD and give Congress the mandate for the government in the upcoming assembly elections,” he had said.