Odisha Congress expels Publicity Committee Chairman Sanjay Tripathi for 'anti-party activities'

Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], May 31 (ANI): Odisha Congress on Friday expelled its Publicity Committee Chairman Sanjay Tripathi from the party for six years over "indiscipline and anti-party activities."
The action comes a day before the last phase of voting of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
"AICC has approved the expulsion of Sanjay Tripathi with immediate effect from Indian National Congress for six years due to indiscipline and anti-party," Odisha Congress President Sarat Pattanayak said in a release on Friday.
Earlier Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday exuded confidence that the Bharatiya Janata Party will win all 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha and also form the government in the state.
"We will get 45 per cent vote share in Lok Sabha and I can say with full responsibility, that we will win 21 out of 21 seats in Odisha. We will also get a majority (in assembly) and we will get the opportunity to serve the state," he added.
Dharmendra Pradhan is contesting the Lok Sabha polls from Odisha's Sambalpur constituency. Voting on the seat happened on May 25 in the fifth phase of polling.
Being asked if he is ready to shift his role to the state if the party gives him the responsibility of the state, the Union Minister said that he is only a 'worker' of the party. He added that the party's parliamentary board will decide the responsibility.
Naveen Patnaik (77) has been serving as the Chief Minister of Odisha since 2000 and is the second-longest-serving CM of any Indian state. He is seeking a record sixth term in power in the state.
The assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Odisha are taking place simultaneously, in four phases, from May 13 to June 1. The counting of votes will be held on June 4.
In the last assembly elections in 2019, the BJD won 112 out of 146 seats. BJP won 23 seats and Congress got nine seats.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJD mopped up the lion's share of the electoral spoils, with the BJP and the Congress following behind. The BJD won 12 seats, the BJP finished a close second at 8, and the Congress bagged just a lone seat. (ANI)