Bhubaneswar, Feb, 20: Ahead of the Lok Sabha and assembly elections in Odisha, there has been a surge in demand for Congress party tickets. Despite being in third place, the Congress is gaining popularity in the state, with over3,700 applicants vying for the tickets.
PCC president Sarat Pattanayak said that more than 3700 people have applied for Congress tickets in the state. More than 3,000 applications have applied for 147 Assembly seats and more than 700 applications for 21 Lok Sabha seats.
After the Pradesh election committee meeting, the PCC president said, “ Congress will give tickets in advance in the state. As of now, more than 3700 applications have been received on the Praganam app. The eligibility of the candidates was discussed in the PCC committee. Members gave their opinions. Winability will be the main criterion in the distribution of tickets. Priority will be given to youth, women, and students. “
However, in the second phase list will be sent to the screening committee after the core committee meeting. The first phase list will appear soon. More than 70 candidates' names will be announced by March 1.
In the meeting, prominent leaders like the former PCC president Jayadev Jena, Prasad Harichandan, campaign committee chairman Bijay Patnaik, Congress MLA Narsingha Mishra, MP Saptagiri Ulaka were present.
After the meeting, MP Saptagiri said, “Candidates have applied online on the Praganam app. We are preparing the list of candidates. I have suggested to adopt the policy of Karnatak and Telengana. I have also applied for Koraput MP. Hope the team will give me ticket. I will fight, it seems that the party president is taking it seriously”.
