Host of Congress MLAs in Odisha to quit party
Mr Gandhi is scheduled address a public rally in Bhubaneswar on January 25.
BHUBANESWAR: As top leaders of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee prepare for a grand Rahul Gandhi show on January 25 in Odisha capital Bhubaneswar, a section of the party MLAs are planning to quit the party ahead of the event.
On Wednesday, Pradesh Congress Committee working president Nabakishore Das resigned the party saying he wanted to contest the next polls on BJD ticket.
Sources said two more Congress MLAs – Prakash Behera of Salipur and Jogesh Singh of Sundargarh – were in touch with the BJD leadership and chief minister Naveen Patnaik to join the party.
Mr Gandhi is scheduled address a public rally in Bhubaneswar on January 25. The Congress leaders in Odisha hope the Congress president will formally launch the party’s poll campaign in the state on that very day.
Sources said the BJD was eyeing at least six of the 16 MLAs it has got in the 147-member Assembly.