Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Congress has commenced its Sankalp Padayatra from today. Under the leadership of newly appointed President Bhakta Charan Das, more than a hundred Congress workers have embarked on this march towards Puri. This evening, the Padayatra reached Pipili, and on February 20, after having the darshan of Lord Jagannath in Puri, the President will officially start his political activities in Odisha.
At around 12PM today, Bhakta Charan Das arrived in Bhubaneswar from Delhi, where he was given a grand welcome at Biju Patnaik International Airport. The enthusiasm among the youth workers was evident as they greeted him with traditional drums, folk dances, and devotional songs. At Rajmahal Square, some Congress workers climbed atop bulldozers and cars, waving flags and showering flowers on Das, leading to a temporary traffic jam.
The Padayatra passed through key locations, including Airport Square, Capital Hospital, Sishubhavan, Rajmahal, and Kalpana Square, before heading towards Pipili. Several Congress MLAs and leaders joined the march at different points, including some who had recently been reinstated after suspensions.
During his speech, Bhakta Charan Das expressed his delight at witnessing the enthusiasm of the people and Congress workers in Odisha. He emphasized that the purpose of this Sankalp Padayatra is to bring about change and rejuvenate the party’s grassroots workers. Senior leader Navjyoti Pattnaik stated that Odisha was without a strong Congress leadership for the past eight months, but now, under new leadership, the party would expose the misdeeds of both the previous BJD government and the current BJP government.
The Padayatra participants took a break for lunch in Lingipur, where former Nabarangpur Youth Congress President rejoined the party. At Uttara Square, former PCC President Prasad Harichandan welcomed him back into the Congress fold before the march resumed towards Pipili. Several MLAs, including Nishikant Mishra, Manas Acharya, and Gyan Ranjan Pattnaik, led a large group of Congress workers in welcoming Bhakta Charan Das at Pipili, where they stayed overnight before continuing the march on February 19.
Among the prominent leaders accompanying the Padayatra were Suresh Rautaray, Debashish Pattnaik, Navjyoti Pattnaik, Ramachandra Kadam, Ramesh Jena, Taraprasad Bahinipati, Sagar Das, Ashok Das, Mangu Khil, Sophia Firdaus, Manas Chaudhury, Bishwajit Das, Rajani Mahanti, Siddharth Rautaray, Yasir Nawal, Padmakar Guru, Meenakshi Bahinipati, Ganjit Patra, Janaki Ballav Pattnaik, Amiya Pandab, Arya Kumar Gyanendra, Nakul Nayak, Nagendra Pradhan, Balabhadra Majhi, Lalatendu Mahapatra, Deepak Mahapatra, and Udit Pradhan. Congress members from various student, youth, women, and other party wings also participated.
Bhakta Charan Das Injured in Enthusiastic Welcome
During his arrival at the airport, the overwhelming excitement among Congress workers led to pushing and shoving, resulting in Bhakta Charan Das falling and injuring his right hand. Despite the injury, he continued with the Padayatra with his bandaged arm. Later, he received medical treatment at Shree Hospital near Ravi Talkies Square, where doctors confirmed a fracture in his hand. Though surgery was advised, Das decided to postpone it and continue the Padayatra for now, as confirmed by party sources.