Niranjan Patnaik Quits As Odisha Congress Chief

Bhubaneswar: Senior Congress leader Niranjan Patnaik on Friday resigned as the president of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) owning moral responsibility for the party’s debacle in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the state.

“I have sent my resignation letter to the AICC chairperson and party supremo Rahul Gandhi owning responsibility for the dismal show of Congress in Odisha,” Niranjan told mediapersons here.

Talking about the outcome of the election, he said the Congress could not withstand the Modi wave across the country. The people reposed their faith on Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister and Naveen Patnaik as the Chief Minister of Odisha.

He, however, said that there is no principle and ethics in the politics being practised of late. “Politics has been commercialized as the leaders are buying votes in exchange of money offered to the people. It is high time for the young brigade with high principles to come forward to take the mantle of leadership,” Niranjan said.

Asked whether he would continue as a member of Congress, he said: “I will remain as a dedicated member of the Congress and do my best to strengthen the party”.

Notably, the OPCC president lost both the assembly seats – Ghasipura and Bhandaripokhari – to BJD’s Badri Narayan Patra and Prafulla Samal, respectively.