Ready to fight poll any time: Niranjan Patnaik

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Niranjan Patnaik on Tuesday said that the party is fully prepared to fight the election at any time.

“We are united and ready cent per cent for poll battle even if it is held tomorrow,” Patnaik said.
Clarifying party stand on ticket allotment, Congress in-charge of Odisha Jitendra Singh said merit of a candidate is the only criteria to obtain a ticket.

“No recommendation will work this time. The ticket will be distributed on the basis of merit,” he added.

Selection of around 50 per cent candidates will be over by the end of August, Singh informed.
Niranjan Patnaik had on Monday informed that Congress president Rahul Gandhi will visit the state in August and meet the party workers at the grassroots level to boost their morale.
This will be the first visit of Gandhi to the state after Patnaik took over as the OPCC president from Prasad Harichandan on April 19, 2018.
AICC Odisha in-charge Jitendra Singh, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Narasingh Mishra and other members of the committee attended the brainstorming session.

The AICC president had approved a 31-member coordination committee headed by Singh on Saturday.