Naveen Patnaik's Party BJD To Field 27% OBC Candidates In Panchayat Polls

Odisha Panchayat Elections: "BJD President Naveen Patnaik has decided to field 27 per cent candidates from the OBC in the ensuing three-tire panchayat elections," Mr Sahoo told reporters adding that other political parties in the state should also give proportionate party tickets to OBCs.

In what analysts are terming as a political masterstroke, the ruling Biju Janata Dal President Naveen Patnaik on Friday decided his party will field candidates from Other Backward Castes (OBC) for 27 per cent of seats in the forthcoming three-tier panchayat elections in Odisha. This was announced by Agriculture and Farmer Empowerment Minister Arun Kumar Sahoo and Co-operation Minister RN Swain at a press conference here. "BJD President Naveen Patnaik has decided to field 27 per cent candidates from the OBC in the ensuing three-tire panchayat elections," Mr Sahoo told reporters adding that other political parties in the state should also give proportionate party tickets to OBCs. The ruling party's move came barely three days after a delegation of the BJD MPs met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in his Parliament chamber and submitted a memorandum seeking a legislation to raise quota for OBCs in the state.