Day after Cong revamps team, Bahinipati says not keen on post

Bhubaneswar: Dissidence within the Congress state unit surfaced again with senior MLA from Jeypore Tara Prasad Bahinipati on Tuesday expressing his unwillingness to accept the newly assigned post of senior vice-president of the party in Odisha.
On Monday, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) reconstituted the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) by appointing a jumbo team of office-bearers. Bahinipati was appointed as one of the five senior vice-presidents.
“I am not interested in holding any post or position. I was planning to resign from the post of senior vice-president. But this move would have looked bad. I have conveyed my wish of relinquishing the post to our party state leadership,” said Bahinipati (67), a four-time Congress MLA.
The Congress legislator, whose wife Minakhi Bahinipati has been appointed as one of the general secretaries of the party, did not cite any specific reason for his reluctance to serve as senior vice-president. He even avoided questions on his reported differences with OPCC president Sarat Pattanayak.
“Since elections are nearing, I want to focus on my constituency. If I hold a post, the party would give me certain responsibilities and expect results. I will not be able to perform. I have no interest in posts,” said Bahinipati, who had left the party embarrassed by revolting against former OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik’s leadership several times in the past.
While Bahinipati’s decision is likely to upset the preparations for the 2024 elections, Congress MLA from Khariar, Adhiraj Mohan Panigrahi said each office-bearer of the party is duty-bound to discharge his or her assigned role and responsibility with due diligence. “I don’t want to comment on Bahinipati’s remarks. We are disciplined leaders of Congress and should discharge our duties without any complaint,” Panigrahi said. Congress state president Pattanayak said he would discuss the issue with Bahinipati. “I do not know why he is not interested in holding the post of senior vice-president. Everyone in the new team is happy. We are united to fight BJD and BJP,” he said.