The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has announced that it will launch its month-long Jana Sampark Yatra in Odisha on October 2.

Odisha chief minister and the BJD president Naveen Patnaik has written letters to all the party functionaries to carry out the Yatra by reaching out to people at various levels, from blocks and districts to cities.

Different wings of the party have chalked out detailed programmes for the Yatra, which will conclude on November 2.

The political climate in Odisha warms up with the Congress launching its Bharat Jodo Yatra in the state on October 31 and the BJP’s national president J.P. Nadda visiting the state on September 29 to kickstart the campaign for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The BJD’s Jana Sampark Yatra will culminate with all party leaders participating in a mass oath-taking ceremony to dedicate themselves to the service and welfare of the people of the state on November 2.

During the Yatra, the BJD workers will celebrate Gandhi Jayanti, Lal Bahadur Shastri Jayanti, Utkalmani Gopabandhu Das Jayanti, and Jay Prakash Naryan Jayanti with the people.

The leaders and workers participating in the Yatra would go from door to door to make people aware of the government’s welfare schemes. They will organise blood donation camps, tree plantation drives and other public welfare services.

On the other hand, Nadda will be reaching Bhubaneswar on a two-day visit on Thursday.

He will address around 20,000 party workers at Janata Maidan in the capital city after taking part in a road show from the airport to the meeting venue.

The BJP, the main opposition party, has already gone into campaign mode with the party’s newly appointed in-charge of the state, Sunil Bansal, asking the cadres to get ready to overthrow the Naveen Patnaik government during his recent visit to the state.

As if to steal the saffron party’s thunder, the ruling BJD is reported to be planning a similar gathering of frontal organisations – women, youth, students and minorities wings – to be addressed by the chief minister the same day through video conferencing.

The Congress’s Bharat Jodo Yatra will commence in Odisha from the Indira Gandhi Park in Bhubaneswar on October 31 and continue for the next 100 days.

The Congress, which was badly beaten in the last municipal and panchayat elections in the state and has also lost the tag of the main opposition party, is desperately looking for revival.