‘No change in Cong leadership’

BHUBANESWAR: With AICC president Rahul Gandhi taking a decision that presidents of all Pradesh Congress Committees will continue in their posts after the organisational election unless a decision is taken to replace them, chances of a change of guard in Odisha Congress in the near future has further receded.The decision of the party president was announced by general secretary Janardan Dwivedi on Saturday. “Rahul has taken a decision that the presidents of all Pradesh Congress Committees, Regional Congress Committees and Territorial Congress Committees will continue in their posts after the organisational election unless some decision is taken to replace them,” Dwivedi said.

There was a sign that there will be no change in the State leadership on 133rd Foundation Day function of party held here on December 27 where OPCC president Prasad Harichandan had given a call for collective leadership. Harichandan, along with several senior leaders of the party, observed the Foundation Day at the Congress Bhavan here and gave the call, ‘Mun nuhein, Ame (We, Not I)’ for the revival of Congress fortunes in Odisha.

Harichandan had given a similar call to the party leaders and workers when he took over as the OPCC president, three years back.However, a powerful section within the party had demanded restructuring of the State unit. The demand for restructuring and ouster of Harichandan as the party’s State president had intensified, following the February 2017 panchayat polls in which the Congress slipped to third position, behind the BJP.

 Rahul Gandhi had met senior leaders of Odisha Congress in a phase-wise manner in a bid to find out what had gone wrong with the State unit and had appointed a three-member committee to assess the situation. Gandhi’s meeting with the senior leaders has raised hopes that a change in leadership is on the cards.