Bhubaneswar: Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Niranjan Patnaik Thursday said a change is needed in the OPCC.
Patnaik said this in the backdrop of wide speculation on change of guard in the OPCC after the party’s dismal performance in the recently concluded panchayat and urban polls. He said the OPCC president’s post is not permanent, it is changed every two-three years.
Patnaik, who assumed the OPCC chief post in 2018 ahead of the general elections for the Lok Sabha and the State Assembly, said: “Some people spread only bad messages. Change of leadership is not a new thing. Change is needed, the sooner the better.”
The OPCC president also said that he had resigned from the post immediately after the 2019 elections on moral responsibility for party’s dismal performance. “What can I do, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) has not yet accepted my resignation.”
Patnaik also said that he has no idea when the high command will take a final call in regard to his resignation. He said that there are several able leaders in the party and he will support the new OPCC president to be chosen by the AICC.
Immediately after the recently concluded panchayat and urban polls, there is a fresh move for a change of the OPCC president. Some of the senior leaders have already met the party high command and sought a change of guard in the OPCC.
Congress MLAs Taraprasad Bahinipati, S S Saluja, Adhiraj Panigrahi and Mohammed Moquim had recently raised the issue and demanded a change of guard in the OPCC. Though all of them claimed that they were not against Niranjan Patnaik, the MLAs wanted a change in view of the party’s repeated failure.
They demanded that the OPCC should get a new president much ahead of the 2014 general elections.
Bahinipati had said that a new face should be there as the OPCC Chief. “An MLA should be appointed for the post, be it Suresh Routray, Barabati-Cuttack MLA Mohammed Moquim or any other. We will welcome the move,” he said.
Former OPCC president and senior leader Jaydev Jena said that he is not ready to take the responsibility again, but will certainly support any leader selected by the AICC. Names of several leaders are being discussed for the next OPCC chief in the party circle.
PTI