General elections 2024: Odisha Congress starts screening ticket aspirants; 'want to stop PTN’, says Ajoy Kumar

Ahead of the 2024 General Elections, the Odisha Congress has intensified its screening of applications of party ticket aspirants. As per official sources, the state Congress has received online applications from nearly 2500 aspirants for the 147 constituencies in Odisha.

Earlier, the AICC Odisha in-charge Ajoy Kumar had launched a portal to facilitate aspirants to apply for party tickets for the upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Odisha.

The Congress leader claimed that the online system has been adopted to maintain transparency in the ticket distribution for the upcoming general elections.

PCC President, Sarat Pattnayak said, “A new formula has been made to maintain transparency and give scope to all to apply for Congress tickets. A lot of influential people have also applied. We have around 2500 applicants for 147 Assembly constituencies and around 500 aspirants for 21 Lok Sabha seats.”

Pattanayak said that one-to-one discussion is being done with the aspirants and a seven-day task is given to them which will be evaluated by the Congress team. The last date to apply for a Congress ticket is tomorrow and based on the tasks including organisation, political works, and other parameters, applications will be reviewed.

PTN In Odisha

Congress Odisha-In-Charge Ajoy Kumar said at present ‘PTN’ (Pandian From Tamil Nadu) trend is going on. Like Paytm, PTN will also stop in Odisha.

“It is a matter of Odisha pride and in the hands of people of the state to stop this PTN. Around 30 lakh people from the state are moving outside looking for jobs, while 30 industrialists from Tamil Nadu are setting up steel plants. It is in the hands of the people and they need to think about this as people from other states are getting contracts here,” said Kumar.

Kumar further alleged that the picture of late Biju Patnaik is now missing from BJD posters and it is now time for Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

No comments were received from BJD leaders over Kumar’s statements.