Bhubaneswar, July 9: The BJD is holding its extended executive committee meeting to prepare the party cadres for the panchayat polls due early next year.

The meeting will discuss the central neglect issue and success stories of the BJD government over the past 16 years, said BJD general secretary and industries minister Debi Prasad Mishra.

He alleged that the Centre had always been adopting a step-motherly attitude towards Odisha, while favouring neighbouring states, be it the Polavaram dam in Andhra Pradesh or barrage in Chhattisgarh on the Mahanadi. "On the other hand, it creates obstacles on the path to Odisha's development," said the BJD leader.

Mishra said chief minister Naveen Patnaik would give direction to the party cadres for the coming days in his opening remarks and set the party on motion. The daylong meet will be split into five sessions and adopt around six resolutions on various contemporary issues, said party leaders.

Around 550 delegates, including all state office-bearers, councillor members, district presidents, leaders of party's frontal organisations, MLAs and MPs and also the chairpersons of zilla parishads, co-operatives, and public sector undertakings will attend the meeting. A session will be dedicated to organisational matters as the panchayat elections are due in February-March next year.

On the other hand, the Congress and the BJP have started making efforts to expand their base.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has visited the state thrice in the current calendar year. He had inaugurated the oil refinery at Paradip in February and addressed a farmer's rally in Bargarh in the same month. Again he came to Balasore last month to address a function organised to celebrate the completion of two years of his government at the Centre.

Following Modi's Balasore meeting, last month the party organised Vikash Utsav functions in Rourkela, Bargarh, Cuttack and Berhampur. The BJP's Vikash Utsav meeting in Bargarh was also marred by violence as Union textile minister Santosh Gangwar's car was attacked by alleged BJD workers. The BJP alleged that the attack was pre-planned and pointed accusing fingers at the Chief Minister's Office.Besides, the Congress has also staged demonstration at Raighar in Narbarangpur district in protest against the state government's failures in implementation of Forest Rights Act and observed KBK strike on the issue.