PCC Chief Clears Air On ‘One Man, One Post’ Rule

Bhubaneswar: Setting aside rumours of discontent among some of the party leaders on the ‘one man, one post’ rule, the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Niranjan Patnaik on Tuesday said the media has thoroughly misinterpreted his statement.

“Any party leader holding two posts simultaneously can contest the election only if there is a strong possibility of his win,” Patnaik told media persons here.

“We have three PCC working presidents. They will contest the election. I am the PCC president and I will also contest the election,” he added.

The PCC president further said the three MLAs of his party, who were also in charge of the District Congress Committee (DCC) presidents, would obviously be the party candidates in the forthcoming Assembly elections. “As they need more time for their constituency, they have been relieved of the DCC president posts,” he clarified.

On the selection of the party candidates for the Assembly elections, Patnaik said winnability of the candidate will be the first criterion. While youth and women will come next in the order, new faces will also be given preference.

Patnaik also blamed the media for misinterpreting his statement. “Show me the video clipping where I have talked about ‘one man, one post’. I have not said it anywhere. You have exaggerated it,” he told the media persons.

Talking about discipline in the party, he said a circular would be issued to party workers and leaders in this regard. “No one is above the party and discipline”, he maintained.

He also said that the PCC will soon depute leaders who will exclusively brief the media.