Change Of Guard: Rahul To Meet Congress MLAs From Odisha Today

Bhubaneswar: A decision on new leadership for the Odisha unit of Congress is likely to be announced anytime soon with former president of All India Congress Committee (AICC), Rahul Gandhi, scheduled to hold a meeting with the party’s nine MLAs in New Delhi at 6.30 pm on Monday.

The incumbent Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Niranjan Patnaik left for New Delhi on Sunday along with the leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) Narasingha Mishra. Another batch of Congress leaders, including former OPCC leader Jaydev Jena and eight MLAs, also left for the national capital separately.

Confirming that a decision on the next OPCC president will be taken at the meeting of party leaders, Niranjan said that it cannot be deferred further as he is no longer willing to continue. “I had offered to quit in 2019. It has been pending for a long time.”

Mohammed Moquim, Barabati-Cuttack MLA, and ex-MP Sarat Patnaik are frontrunners to replace Niranjan as OPCC president, sources said.

The MLAs are also likely to discuss strategies with Rahul on ways to revive Congress in the state ahead of the 2024 elections.

Notably, AICC in-charge of Odisha, A Chellakumar, held several rounds of discussions with senior party leaders here on April 26 and 27 on the probable candidates for the new OPCC chief.