Odisha BJP’s three-day training programme kicked off in Puri on Tuesday with the focus on preparing the road map for the 2024 general election.

The training programme was inaugurated by state party unit head Samir Mohanty in presence of D. Purandeswari, former in-charge of the Odisha BJP. The programme is likely to be attended by Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan, Ashwini Vaishnaw and Bishweswar Tudu.

The party, which has 22 Assembly and eight Lok Sabha seats in Odisha, aims to win at least 16 Lok Sabha seats and put up a much better show in the next Assembly elections. Odisha has 147 Assembly seats and 21 Lok Sabha seats.

The newly appointed BJP pravari (in-charge) for Odisha, Bengal and Telangana, Sunil Bansal, an aide of Union home minister Amit Shah, during his maiden visit to the state earlier this month had made it clear that the party won’t be able to put up a good show encashing the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi unless it strengthens its base at the booth level.

The training programme comprises of 15 sessions.

BJP also focuses on making the party functionaries aware of different central schemes and their implementation at the state level. The leaders have also been asked to sensitise people on how the Centre bears the major share of expenses for the state’s cheap rice programme. Nearly 350 state BJP functionaries including MLAs and MPs attended the meeting.

However, it would be a daunting task for the BJP to make inroads into the bastion of the BJD unless it comes up with special efforts and is able to make a dent in chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s popularity.

The party has tried every trick in the bag in the past and was even successful in enhancing its vote share in the last few elections but it is still far from reaching a position where it can pose a real challenge to Naveen.