Orissa Cong awaits major revamp, new president

Even as the Congress is yet to recover from the severe drubbing it received from the BJD-BJP combine in Orissa, race for the post of preside...

Even as the Congress is yet to recover from the severe drubbing it received from the BJD-BJP combine in Orissa, race for the post of president of the pradesh Congress committee has hotted up with several senior party leaders lobbying hard for it.

Former chief minister J.B. Patnaik, who was appointed to the post a month before the twin polls, had to resign after his nomination as the leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) on June 2. Patnaik will function as the leader of the Opposition in the Assembly.

Sources maintain that a major revamp in the party organisation is on the cards. Younger and more effective leaders will be entrusted with the responsibility of preparing the party to fight against the BJD-BJP combine the next time.

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However, many senior leaders, including former chief ministers Hemananda Biswal and Giridhar Gamang, are the contenders for the top post. While Biswal has lost the recent Assembly election, Gamang won from his pocket.

Party leaders also maintain that the high command could nominate a backward caste leader to lead the state unit. Former Rajya Sabha MP Anant Prasad Sethi and former Jaydev Jena are in the race from this category. Both Sethi and Jena have won the recent Assembly election. Sethi is a JB Patnaik loyalist. Another protege, Lalatedu Bidyadhar Mahapatra, is also in the race for the top post.

The chances of several senior leaders, including former Union Ministers Srikant Jena and Bhakta Charan Das, and former ministers Bhagabat Prasad Mahanty and Niranjan Patnaik, cannot be ruled out.

Supporters of Sarat Patnaik, a comparatively young former MP, and Kanhu Charan Lenka, former OPCC president, opine they could be given the responsibility again. Around a dozen aspirants are now camping in New Delhi, lobbying for the top post.

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