A preparatory meeting was held here on Thursday to make the BJD’s March 5 congregation here, termed as Krishak Samavesh, a grand success. “We plan a gathering of at least 1.5 lakh people at the rally to be addressed by party president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik,” senior Ministers Prasanna Acharya and Kalpataru Das told reporters.
“Since the farmers of the region face problems to sell their padyy and other produces, the Chief Minister and other party leaders will try to appease this section of the electorate ahead of the coming elections,” party sources said.
The Krishak Samavesh would also include agricultural labourers, Kendu leaf pluckers and people in general, the party leaders said.
At the preparatory meeting, local leaders, including Sambalpur BJD district president Rohit Pujari, were given specific responsibilities to ensure the rally’s success. They were given the targets of the numbers of people to be brought from their respective areas and to look into their comfort during the journey and way back home.
Ministers Acharya and Das said that in the 2009 elections, the BJD did not fare well in western Odisha, but the party is now encouraged as it achieved resounding success in the recent urban local body (UlB) elections. “We are all serious to make our position stronger like that of the other parts of the State,” said BJD district chief Pujari.