AICC decision on new PCC chief to be accepted

Bhubaneswar: All the senior Congress leaders in Odisha on Monday unanimously passed a resolution agreeing they would accept the new State unit chief to be appointed by the party high command. This was stated by Congress election committee member Charan Das Mahant, who held a marathon meeting with the party leaders, including some former OPCC presidents, MLAs and MPs, on the matter.

The PCC chief’s post remains vacant for over three-and-a-half months after the AICC dissolved the State unit of the party. “All the senior leaders passed a unanimous resolution and agreed they will accept any leader of the OPCC selected by the party high command,” Mahant told reporters after the meeting.

Asked when the OPCC will get a new president, Mahant said it will be any time after the Assembly election results in Jharkhand are declared on November 23. “Sonia ji, Rahul ji and Kharge ji are aware of the party’s situation in Odisha. They will elect the new leader to head the OPCC,” he said.

Referring to his discussions with the party leaders, Mahant said all of them have opined that a strong leader needs to lead the party in Odisha.

“Some of them said the leaders who have performed well in the previous panchayat and urban polls should be given priority. Some also expressed the view that a group of leaders should lead the party in Odisha. We will inform everything to the party high command which will take the final decision,” he said. He said the selection committee will submit its report to the party after its visit to the State.

“Even if we submit the report, they (leadership) will not be able to go through it till the Jharkhand Assembly election results are declared on November 23. Following this, we will hold discussions with the high command and if required, they will visit the State again,” he added. Mahant, however, declined to comment on the likely names for the OPCC chief.

According to party insiders, former Union ministers Srikant Jena and Bhakta Charan Das, and former MLA Mohammed Moquim are frontrunners for the post.

The names of Koraput MP Saptagiri Ulaka and former OPCC president Prasad Harichandan are also doing the rounds. Presently, the Odisha Congress is being run by a 15-member coordination committee after the AICC dissolved the party’s State unit and dismissed all State office-bearers, including State president Sarat Pattanayak, following the party’s dismal performance in this year’s simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the State. All the district, block and divisional committees of the party in Odisha were also dissolved.