Odisha Congress To Get New President In January: Moquim

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) is likely to get its new president in January 2025, senior party member Mohammed Moquim said.

OPCC has been functioning without a president for the last five months after the All India Congress Committee (AICC) dissolved the state party unit and removed all its office-bearers, including the then president Sarat Pattanayak, on July 21 over poor performance in Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.

Stating that the party high command will name the new president of PCC in the New Year, Moquim said selection process is completed and reports related to the state party chief have been forwarded to the AICC in New Delhi.

The final decision rests with the AICC which will not be influenced while appointing the state unit chief as the process would remain free from lobbying.

Another senior leader and former OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik also shared his insights on the selection process and underlined the need for appointing a young leader to guide the party in the state.

AICC is perhaps taking more time as they are looking for a young and dynamic leader for the president’s position, said Patnaik.

As per speculation, former Union Minister Bhakta Charan Das, Jeypore MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati, Moquim and former PCC chiefs Prasad Harichandan and Jayadev Jena are among the contenders for the post.

A two-member AICC team, comprising Chhattisgarh assembly’s leader of opposition, Charan Das Mahant, and senior leader Meenakshi Natarajan, recently held discussions with the state leaders here on shortlisting candidates for the post.