[Watch] BRS Will Fight 147 Assembly Seats In Odisha, Says Shishir Gamang

Bhubaneswar: All set to join Bharat Rastra Samiti (BRS) along with his father after quitting BJP, former Odisha Chief Minister Giridhar Gamang’s son Shishir said the K Chandrasekhar Rao-led party will fight all 147 Assembly and 21 Lok Sabha seats in the state in next elections.

Though the junior Gamang did not specify as to when the father-son duo will join Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s party, Shishir said he together with his father will become part of BRS very soon.

Both are set to join BRS at a joining ceremony at Hyderabad in the presence of the Telangana Chief Minister, though the date is yet to be finalised.

Indicating that his father may be entrusted with the task of heading the party in Odisha, he said BSR will not confine itself only to the southern part or any particular region Odisha. The senior Gamang may lead BRS in the 2024 elections as Odisha unit president.

“While making a foray into the state’s political spectrum, it will definitely play a larger role,” Shishir said in an exclusive interview to Odisha Bytes for its ‘Jawab Sual’ programme.

BSR will be active across Odisha and field candidates for all the 147 Assembly and 21 Lok Sabha seats in the next elections, Shishir said. “We will have to focus on both state Assembly and Lok Sabha elections which are going to be held simultaneously. BRS will have to fight both,” he said.

Stating that a blueprint has already been prepared for the next electoral battle by the party chief, Shishir said the poll strategy will now have to be finalised fine-tuned ahead of the 2024 elections.

On the reason behind the decision to join BRS, he said the development model adopted by Telangana is quite impressive as that state has achieved remarkable economic growth and increase in per capita income.

Moerover, Chandrasekhar Rao has indepth knowledge about Odisha and its culture and the state will definitely gain immensely if the party emerges as a major political force here, said Shishir.

Voicing confidence about his father’s ability to lead the party in Odisha, Shishir said that the senior Gamang is physically and mentally fit for active politics.

Both Giridhar Gamang, who switched to BJP in 2015, and Shishir resigned from the primary membership of the saffron party earlier on Wednesday stating that they were unable to discharge political, social and moral duty towards the people of Odisha for the last several years under the saffron brigade.

Shishir said he was unable to do much for the welfare of the tribal community and the youth while remaining in the party. He alleged that a particular leader worked to ensure his defeat from Gunupur assembly seat in the last elections.