Bhubaneswar: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge will visit Odisha at the end of this month and address a mega rally in state capital Bhubaneswar, a senior party leader said Sunday.
Preparations have already started and the venue of the rally will be finalised in two days, state Congress president Sarat Pattanayak said.
During the visit, Kharge will hold a series of meetings with senior state leaders, district and block presidents, and booth presidents, senior Congress MLA Taraprasad Bahinipati said.
Besides overseeing the preparations for the Lok Sabha elections and assembly polls, the Congress president will also review the state unit’s readiness for the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra which will arrive in Odisha next month, party leaders said.
Kharge recently met coordinators of the 21 Lok Sabha seats in the state in New Delhi.
To make the visit successful, the state Congress formed a committee headed by senior leader Jaydev Jena.
The state Congress’s Jana Sampark Bus Yatra, which was scheduled to start on January 21, was postponed to February 1, party leaders said.
The Yatra will start from Lingaraj temple in Bhubaneswar and will cover all the 147 assembly seats in the state, they said.
Meanwhile, state Congress president wrote to the district committees and other wings of the party, saying that some persons were allegedly taking money from aspiring candidates with the assurances of giving them tickets in the elections.
The names of the candidates for Lok Sabha elections and assembly polls will be announced at the right time by the Congress, he said, urging party workers not to be influenced by false assurances.
PTI