Sharad Pawar, Rahul Gandhi to campaign in Orissa

BHUBANESWAR: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief and Union agriculture minister, Sharad Pawar, who skipped the Third Front's public rally here on Friday apparently coming under pressure from Congress, is scheduled to launch a joint campaign along with his new found ally Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in some places on Wednesday. But he will be not sharing dais with the Left parties at any of the venues.

Apart from canvassing for party candidates at three places - Barchana and Begunia Assembly constituencies and Balasore Lok Sabha seat, - Pawar will seek votes for the BJD candidate in Bhandaripokhari assembly constituency.

Pawar is scheduled to address four rallies along with the BJD president and chief minister Naveen Patnaik. There is no mention in his tour programme on campaigning for Left parties in the state, party functionary Badrinaryan Mohanty told ET on Monday.

The BJD, NCP and Left parties have formed a Mahamenta (Grand Alliance) in Orissa. Meanwhile, All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Rahul Gandhi is also reaching here on Tuesday on a two-day visit to the state to campaign for his party.

Gandhi is scheduled to address a series of election meetings in coastal and western Orissa. He will mainly focus on rural voters as his tour programme suggests. His visit will follow a whirlwind tour to the state by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The Prime Minister is scheduled to address nearly half a dozen election meetings in only two hours, Congress sources said.

However, details of his programme are yet to be finalised. Party's star campaigner Sonia Gandhi visited the state last week to drum up support for the Congress. She toured western and southern Orissa where she addressed three public meetings on April 2.

Similarly, BJP���s star campaigner and erstwhile Bollywood Dream Girl Hema Malini is scheduled to visit Orissa shortly to campaign for her party. Her tour programme is yet to be finalised, party sources said. Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi campaigned for his BJP candidates on Sunday in some places but could not make it to strife-torn Kandhamal as his chopper developed a technical snag.