TNI Bureau: Seems like the ‘padyatra politics’ will somehow help the political parties to make their image clean before the next general elections in Odisha. While the government is defending itself over the allegations of coal scam, both the ruling BJD and main opposition Congress have launched parallel padyatras to expose each other in the state.

The padyatras were launched on the 143rd birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on Tuesday. While Congress is determined to nail the Naveen Patnaik government for its alleged involvement in large-scale corruptions including coal block allocation, BJD will reach the people with its development projects launched in the state and the expose the Center’s step motherly treatment to Odisha.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik flagged off the BJD padyatra from Ekamra constituency. The regional party has already appointed two observers in each constituency of the state to oversee the preparations for the padyatra ending on October 11. Hours before the padyatra, the CM provided cycles to thousands of students in the state capital as announced earlier.

Congress on the other hand, launched its 8-day long padyatra from Swaraj Ashram in Cuttack which will culminate at Bakula Bana on October 9, the birth anniversary of Gopabandhu Das. The yatra which aims to garner public support after the September 6 ‘Parivartan’ rally and Odisha bandh on September 10, will cover Cuttack, Khurda and Puri districts, party sources said.

According to the political pundits, this Padyatra politics is just a rehearsal face off between BJD and Congress eyeing to the urban body polls next year and the general election a year later.