BJD, Congress ready to face off during padyatra

Bhubaneswar: Much ahead of the real political battle in 2014 general election, ruling BJD and Opposition Congress get ready for a rehearsal face off during their respective padyatras starting Tuesday.

While Congress has determined to nail the Naveen Patnaik government for its alleged involvement in large scale corruptions including coal block allocation, BJD will reach the people with its development projects launched in the state eying the urban body polls next year and the general election a year later.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will flag off the BJD padyatra from Ekamra constituency. The regional party has already appointed two observers in each constituency of the state to oversee the preparations for the padyatra ending on October 11.

Congress on the other hand, to commemorate Gandhi Jayanti will launch its 8-day long padyatra from Swaraj Ashram in Cuttack which will culminate at Bakula Bana on October 9, the birth anniversary of Gopabandhu Das. The yatra which aims to garner public support after the September 6