State Congress gears up for Zilla Parishad polls

BHUBANESWAR: Defeated Congress candidates of the last Lok Sabha and Assembly elections are likely to be fielded by the party in the ensuing Zilla Parishad polls.Addressing a preparatory meeting of the panchayat election committee at Congress Bhavan here on Tuesday, Orissa Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president KP Singhdeo called upon the defeated candidates to be nominees in the Zilla Parishad polls to strengthen the party at grassroots level. He said he had discussed the issue with party president Sonia Gandhi in Delhi on May 4.Singhdeo said the Centre had made provision for execution of a majority of welfare schemes through the Zilla Parishads. But the benefits of the schemes are not reaching the intended beneficiaries in Orissa, he said adding that the Congress leaders should visit their constituencies as early as possible.The PCC president said instead of showing their capabilities by giving interviews to newspapers and attending TV shows here, the defeated candidates should move to their constituencies and try for the successful implementation of several welfare schemes launched by the Centre. Singhdeo said party MP Pradip Majhi and MLA Duryodhan Gordia were elected to the Lok Sabha and Assembly when they were members of the respective Zilla Parishads.Presiding over the meeting, Congress Legislature Party deputy leader Chakradhar Paik said he would visit all the districts and submit a report to the OPCC about the organisational strength of the party.Sources, however, maintained that not many defeated senior Congress leaders are willing to contest the Zilla Parishad elections.OPCC vice-president Sibanand Ray, former ministers Sarat Rout and Ripunath Seth, former MLA Chiranjib Biswal and other members attended.