Bhubaneswar: Exuding confidence, the newly appointed Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee President, Niranjan Patnaik today appeared in an aggressive mood to strengthen the party’s stature before the upcoming 2019 general elections.
Soon after being handed the party’s baton on Saturday, Patnaik was seen in full gear today as he held marathon meetings with legislature party members, youth, women and student wings of the party followed by discussions with representatives of the party at district level.
Addressing the media after the meetings, Patnaik said “At least 50 percent candidate selection for the polls is likely to be completed by August. New faces, women and young candidates will be given importance. Distribution of tickets for 2019 polls will be preponed unlike previous years when candidates were selected on the last minute. This will help us prepare a strategy in advance."
“Those who think that this is a losing battle for us will ultimately see that we are fighting a wining battle. From the newfound energy and enthusiasm on the faces of the workers and leaders, I can assume that winning this might be hard but not impossible,” Patnaik said.
Party-in-charge of the party, Jitendra Singh said, “Our only aim is to earn the trust and love of people in Odisha and sensitise them about the failures of both state and the Central governments.”
Giving his comments on the resurgence of Congress, BJD leader and Rajya Sabha member Pratap Deb said “We are sure that it is not going to affect us in any way. Their party was said to be in limbo just a day before. So time will tell what they achieve and where they go from here.” Similarly, BJP general secretary Prithviraj Harichandan said that Congress should stop day dreaming and should rather concentrate on resolving their internal squabble.