Tirkey blames party leaders for his defeat

Bhubaneswar: The infighting within the state unit of Congress intensified on Wednesday with senior leader George Tirkey blaming party leaders for his defeat from Sundargarh in the Lok Sabha elections.
“Some senior leaders of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) and district Congress committee (DCC) hatched a conspiracy against me. Our own party leaders campaigned for our rivals and ensured my defeat. I have brought the matter to the notice of our state leadership and demanded action against the conspirators,” Tirkey said.
He also pointed at EVM tampering by BJP as one the reasons for his defeat. BJP, however, hit back saying Tirkey is questioning the people’s mandate and making baseless allegations after his defeat.
Firebrand tribal leader Tirkey, who was Biramitrapur MLA, stood third after the results were announced on May 23.
He got only 2,68,218 votes out of over 11 lakh valid votes polled in Sundargarh.
Sitting MP and BJP candidate Jual Oram won from the seat by securing over 5 lakh votes.
BJD candidate Sunita Biswal, daughter of former chief minister Hemananda Biswal and veteran Congress leadear, stood second with over 2.76 lakh votes. Tirkey’s broadside against party leaders came after similar accusations were recently levelled by other senior leaders after the party’s humiliating defeat.
Last week, senior leader Kanhu Charan Lenka had accused former chief minister Hemananda Biswal of having a secret pact with BJD. Lenka and some other leaders also questioned Congress state president Niranjan Patnaik’s leadership and blamed him for the defeat.
The total number of Congress seats in the 147-member assembly fell to nine this time from 16 in 2014. Niranjan, who on May 24 offered to resign from his post, said a 21-member committee is examining the reasons for the party’s defeat.
“It is not the time to indulge in blame game. There are several factors that led to our disastrous performance. The committee will probe all angles,” Niranjan said.
Veteran Congress leader and Balangir MLA Narasingha Mishra, who heads the 21-member committee, said his team would visit all constituencies to probe the causes of the party’s humiliating defeat.