Modi, Patnaik banking on marketing to continue in power: Congress

Launching a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, senior Congress leader A Chellakumar on Wednesday accused them of solely banking on marketing to be in power instead of working for the people.

Congress, on the other hand, lacks in marketing itself, the AICC in-charge for Odisha told reporters here.

Congress is not dependent on marketing, but it will devise its own strategies to connect to the masses to win back their confidence and counter BJP and BJD in the state, he said.

We have miserably failed in communicating our achievements to the common man ... We lack in marketing, said Chellakumar, who is on a visit to Odisha ahead of the by-poll to Balasore Sadar and Tirtol assembly seats in the state.

Without doing anything, Narendra Modi and Naveen Patnaik have been successfully marketing .... Congress on its part, is not dependent on marketing. Our party will chalk out its own strategy to counter BJP and BJD, the senior Congress leader said after holding a meeting with party's newly appointed district unit presidents.

To begin with, Congress will make concerted efforts to strengthen its own organisation right from the state level down to the grassroots and once the party set up gets rejuvenated and is in proper form, a mass contact programme will be launched across Odisha, he said.

Chellalumar said he himself will undertake an intensive tour of the state which will begin from the Hinjili Assembly segment in Ganjam district, the chief ministers constituency.

Despite being the constituency of the chief minister, the area does not have a proper hospital to provide health care facilities to the people, he said.

Naveen Patnaik has not done anything for the benefit of the people of Ganjam district, particularly his own constituency Hinjili, he claimed.

Hitting out at the BJD government in the state, the senior Congress leader said no major irrigation project has been taken up by the Naveen Patnaik regime during the last 21 years of its rule. All the major irrigation projects and big dams were constructed when Congress was in power, he claimed.

This apart, the party is all set to undertake several agitational programmes across the state. On October 31, a programme to highlight the cause of farmers will be organised, he said adding that party workers will launch a signature campaign against the contentious farm bills which were passed in Parliament recently, he said.

The Congress leader also urged Patnaik to bring suitable legislation in the state to safeguard the interests of farmers if the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) is really worried about the welfare of the farming community and opposed to the draconian farm bills.

In order to strengthen the party organisation in the state, the district unit presidents have been given a target of completing the formation of block and booth level committees within two months to ensure that Congress is in a proper form to take on both BJD and BJD in the 2024 elections in the state, he added.