State BJP president Suresh Pujari today held a meeting of senior leaders here and took stock of the situation following the visit of the Amethi MP, party sources said.
Though Pujari claimed that Rahul's visit would have no impact on the tribal population, his party colleague and Keonjhar MLA Mohan Majhi admitted that Rahul's visit could eat into BJP's vote bank among tribals.
Majhi, also the government deputy chief whip in Orissa assembly, said: "There is no doubt that Rahul's visit will help Congress gain popularity in the state."
What worried Majhi and other tribal leaders in BJP is Gandhi's focus on tribal youths.
Gandhi's Orissa tour today includes a three-hour meeting with tribal youths at Jawaharlal Nehru stadium at Cuttack. The programme was named as 'Adivasi Yuva Netrutwa Nirnman Abhijan'.
"The name of the programme itself says what Rahul Gandhi means," a senior BJP leader said adding that of the 34 tribal seats in Orissa assembly the party had 14 representatives besides four tribal MPs including one in Rajya Sabha.
Party sources said while BJD headed by Naveen Patnaik won the majority of seats in the state's coastal region in 2004 elections, BJP took its share in tribal districts thereby keeping Congress out of power.
