Another Congress Leader Of Odisha Blames Central Leadership For Poor Show In 2 Successive Polls

Bhubaneswar: Another Congress MLA has come out in the open to put blame on Central leadership for the party’s dismal show in recently concluded elections to urban local bodies (ULBs) and three-tier panchayati raj institutions (PRIs).

Speaking to media persons on the party electoral debacle, Jatni MLA Suresh Routray minced now words in criticising the AICC and Central leaders. “Not a single senior leader of the Congress (from the Centre) turned up to campaign in support of our candidates. The very leaders, who were active before the nominations, did not come out of their houses to participate in the campaign to boost the morale of the party workers,” he said.

Stating that some leaders from the state like him had to manage several constituencies at a time, he said, “I alone kept running from Jatni to Khurda, Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. How much can I alone do?”

He further said, besides abstaining from campaigning, the Central leadership also did not extend any financial support for electioneering. “The leaders, who have amassed vast wealth by looting national treasury when the party was in power,  did not come forward to loosen their purse strings. At a time when other parties are spending lavishly to purchase votes, the Congress candidates fought both elections from their own money just for their allegiance to the party,” the MLA said.

Soon after the results of panchayat elections were declared last month, Kantabanji MLA of Congress Santosh Singh Saluja had spoken in similar vein against the Central leadership. “The Congress faced the drubbing in this election as there was no financial support to the candidates. The party will face the same fortune in the urban local body elections, if it doesn’t sanction enough funds to its candidates,” he had said.

Meanwhile, Routray said he would continue to speak the truth and raise his voice against indifference of the Central leadership to Odisha. On possible action from AICC, the firebrand leader said he was not afraid of it. “I have been a loyal worker of the party long before these new leaders could find their foothold in politics,” he said.

On Jeypore MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati’s criticism against OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik, Routray said, “Why blame him (Niranjan) only? The state president at least went to some places to bolster the strength of the candidates and provided some funds from his purse.”

It may be noted that the Congress managed to win seven out of 108 ULBs, down from 13 in the 2013-14 polls. Of the total 1,716 councillor posts across the state, the party bagged 134.

In the panchayat polls a month earlier, the party had put up a similarly dismal performance by winning 37 of the 853 Zilla Parishad seats. In the 2017 elections, the party had won 60 seats.