BJD launches massive party campaign in Orissa

Bhuhaneswar, Jan 17 (PTI) The ruling BJD in Orissatoday launched a campaign to connect with all 80 lakh familiesin the state.

The family contact programme, which would continuetill February 14, aims at telling people about the allegedneglect of the state by the Centre and highlighting variouswelfare and developmental measures taken by the BJDgovernment.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and other senior leadersof BJD are taking active part in the 28-day programme.

Senior BJD leader and MP Pyari Mohan Mohapatra saidthat party leaders and workers would approach every familyin the state and try to know their problems.

"We will also tell people about state government''sachievements," he said.

BJD is also initiating a massive membership drive withplans to induct at least one member from each family into theregional party, said another senior leader.

"The basic idea is to transform BJD into a cadre-basedpolitical party," he said.

Besides telling people about the alleged step-motherlyapproach adopted by the UPA government at the Centre againstOrissa, BJD workers would corner the Centre on issues likesky-rocketing prices of essential commodities, particularlyfood items like onion and other vegetables.

Efforts would also be made to counter the oppositionattack on issues like Vedanta and the multi-crore mining scamduring the campaign, which coincided with an anti-corruptionrally addressed by BJP president Nitin Gadkari here.

Plight of farmers due to crop loss caused byunseasonal rains is also being raised by BJD workers as partof their campaign.