Congress Odisha in-charge says new state party chief likely to be decided in a week

Concluding his two-day visit to Odisha on Wednesday, Chellakumar said, “I will submit a report to the the AICC (All India Congress Committee), and the party will take a final decision on who will lead the OPCC next.”

“We had received the incumbent state Congress president Niranjan Patnaik’s resignation in 2019. The next leader will be appointed after thorough consultations and taking into consideration the views of all leaders and lawmakers from the party in the state. The ultimate objective is to rejuvenate the party and bring it back to power in the state,” he added.

Among the names doing rounds for the post are former state Congress president Sarat Patnaik, Cuttack-Barabati MLA Mohammad Moquim and AICC general secretary Bhakta Charan Das.

Meanwhile, there are also demands for the removal of Congress Legislative Party leader Narasingha Mishra amid dissatisfaction from party lawmakers regarding the way matters of importance are taken up in the state Assembly.

Sources in the party said senior party MLAs are expected to visit New Delhi to meet Congress leader Rahul Gandhi next week.

Mishra, who had a one-on-one meeting with Chellakumar, said, “I had a discussion on different important issues. I may say something when the time comes.”