Bhubaneswar, April 12: The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Sarat Pattanayak announced on Friday that the Congress would unveil its second list of candidates for Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in Odisha by April 15. 

Pattanayak informed reporters that potential candidates would undergo screening on Saturday, with the Central Election Committee (CEC) expected to approve the names during its Sunday meeting. He emphasized the party's commitment to field candidates capable of challenging both the BJD and BJP, expressing confidence in Congress' "9 to 90 mission" for the Assembly polls.

Pattanayak asserted that Congress is poised to form the next government in 2024, citing a noticeable shift in Odisha's political landscape. Despite the BJD's 24-year rule, Pattanayak claimed that the state has remained underdeveloped, particularly since the alliance between BJD and BJP in 1998, which endured until 2009. He predicted a similar fate for the Naveen Patnaik government, likening it to the ousting of West Bengal's Communist regime after 34 years in power.

Currently, Congress has announced candidates for only 8 Lok Sabha and 47 Assembly seats. The party aimed to rejuvenate its prospects in Odisha after Ajoy Kumar assumed office as Odisha in-charge and reinstated three previously suspended and expelled Congress leaders – Barabati-Cuttack Mohammed Moquim, Biswal, and former Koraput MLA Krushna Chandra Sagaria. Additionally, the party welcomed back some veteran figures, including former Union Minister Srikant Jena, former Chief Minister Giridhar Gamang, along with his wife and son, former Bargarh MP Sanjay Bhoi, and former Koraput MP Jayaram Pangi.

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