BHUBANESWAR: The membership drive of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has been extended till December 30 to achieve the target of one crore members. The drive will be concluded before December-end in view of the organisational polls of the party scheduled in February next year.
Sources said BJD’s membership had crossed 75 lakh by the end of November. The last date of enrolment was extended till December 15 and has again been fixed on December 30 to make up for the shortfall.
Meanwhile, the ruling party has started working for strengthening its organisation in Mayurbhanj district where its performance was not upto the mark in 2019 elections. The BJD had suffered reverses in the 2017 panchayat polls and 2019 general elections in which the BJP had gained an upper hand in the district.
Organisational charge of the districts has been entrusted to former minister Pranab Prakash Das by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in a bid to revive the party ahead of the urban local body (ULB) polls expected early next year. A high level meeting was held at Baripada recently to prepare the blueprint for the party’s revival.
The meeting was attended by Revenue Minister Sudam Marandi, former minister Sanjay Dasburma and other senior leaders of the district. Dasburma was in-charge of Mayurbhanj district before Das.
Sources said a decision has been taken to divide Mayurbhanj into two organisational districts to make it easier for the office-bearers and district functionaries to work for strengthening of the party’s base in the area.
Similarly, party MLA and youth leader Priti Ranjan Ghadai has been made in charge of Sundargarh where the party’s performance in 2019 elections was below the expectations of the State leadership. Ghadai has replaced senior leader Prashant Nanda as the observer of the district. Sources said a meeting of office-bearers from Talsara, Rajgangur and Sundargarh Assembly segments was held at Sundargarh to assess the situation.
While BJD won from Rourkela and Raghunathpalli Assembly segments in 2019, the focus is now on Sundargarh and Rajgangpur segments from where the party was defeated.Former minister Mangala Kissan had lost from Rajgangpur in the last election by a narrow margin of 946 votes. Membership drive in the segment has been intensified to improve the party’s performance in Rajgangpur in the ULB polls.