Bhubaneswar: Odisha Congress in-charge Jitendra Singh on Sunday quelled the voices of dissent against state party president Niranjan Patnaik by clarifying that a change in leadership was unlikely.
“Niranjan will continue as Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) chief and disciplinary actions will b
e taken against members acting against party principles in public,” Singh told mediapersons in New Delhi.
Ahead of the restructuring of the faction-ridden OPCC, a fresh spell of dissensions started brewing with a host of leaders demanding a change of the guard in the state unit, recently.
The call for the ouster of Niranjan and elevation of Cuttack-Barabati MLA Mohammed Moquim grew shriller when party leaders after a closed-door meeting on November 3, said that they will put across the demand to AICC president Sonia Gandhi.
On Sunday morning, supporters of OPCC chief had held a meeting at a hotel here. “The meeting was neither in support nor against anybody. We assembled here to discuss strategies to strengthen our party,” said senior Congress leader Manas Choudhury.