Change In Leadership In Odisha Congress Unlikely This Year: Pradeep Majhi

Bhubaneswar: Putting all speculation to rest, senior Congress leader and working president of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Pradeep Majhi on Tuesday said that there would be no change of guard in the state this year.

“Although OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik has resigned from his post, the AICC has asked him to remain in charge till the selection of a new leader. Considering the prevailing COVID-19 situation, AICC may discuss a change in leadership in Odisha only after December,” Majhi told the media.

Niranjan had resigned from his post on May 24 last year following the party’s miserable performance in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.

Three months after the polls, the AICC on August 27 dismissed all OPCC office-bearers except the president and the working presidents.

A release issued by the AICC general secretary KC Venugopal stated that the party high command Sonia Gandhi has also dissolved all committees formed at the time of general elections. However, OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik and two working presidents – Chiranjib Biswal and Pradeep Majhi – will continue in their posts.