BHUBANESWAR: Ahead of the visit of national president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi to Odisha on July 11, state Congress chief Bhakta Charan Das on Tuesday asserted that the party is on an upswing in the state with public enthusiasm growing around it.
Das said several leaders of the rival parties, particularly BJD, have also begun to realise the robust revival of Congress organisation and its growing acceptance among the people at the grassroots, and are now ready to join the party. A number of BJD leaders are already in talks and could join Congress after the visit of Kharge and Rahul, he said.
Das said more than one lakh, a majority of who are women, party workers and supporters will attend the ‘Save Constitution’ public meeting to be addressed by Kharge and Rahul in the capital city on July 11. The success of the public meeting will demonstrate the growth of Congress in the state, he said.
Meanwhile, several disgruntled BJD leaders met at the residence of a party senior leader here recently to discuss their future course of action. Former BJD Rajya Sabha member member Bhupinder Singh said they discussed options including joining another political party.
Singh said the leaders want more democratic functioning in the BJD. “This is an old demand. However, the party president Naveen Patnaik has so far ignored it. There is no internal democracy in the party. Though several committees have been formed and office-bearers announced, they have never met nor discussed party functioning,” he said.