BHUBANESWAR: In an attempt to steal a march over the BJD and BJP in the state, the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) has decided to release the first list of 70 candidates for the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections by March 1.
This was announced by OPCC president Sarat Pattanayak on Monday after a meeting of the state election committee of the party. The meeting was convened to discuss aspirants who have applied for tickets through the Pragaman app. The process of candidate selection of Congress has started with the meeting where discussions were held on applications received for the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, he said.
Pattanayak said the list of candidates will be approved by the national screening committee before it is announced by the All India Congress Committee (AICC). The party had launched a new initiative ‘Project Pragaman’ to maintain transparency in selection of candidates. The ticket aspirants were asked to apply through the online portal from February 4 to February 11.
The OPCC president said applications have been received from more than 3,600 aspirants. The applications included more than 3,000 for 147 Assembly seats and 670 for 21 Lok Sabha tickets.
Meanwhile, Pattanayak announced a huge women’s rally will be taken out in the state capital on February 21 to protest growing atrocities on women in the state. President of Odisha Pradesh Mahila Congress Minakshi Bahinipati said the rally will be held in the presence of president of All India Mahila Congress Alka Lamba. She said Naveen Niwas will be gheraoed by the Mahila Congress.