Senior Congress Leader Pranaya Sahu Quits Party

Bargarh: The resignation spree in Odisha Congress continues with another senior leader from Bargarh district Pranaya Kumar Sahu quitting the party on Monday.

He had unsuccessfully contested the Bijepur by-poll last year.

Sahu informed about his decision to resign from the primary membership of the party in a letter to Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Niranjan Patnaik.

Explaining the reasons for his resignation to the media, the senior leader said he had asked the party leadership to introspect on the miserable show of the Congress in the by-election to the Bijepur assembly constituency in February last year.

Not only was this suggestion of his ignored, but he was also not considered during the reconstitution of the OPCC.

Asked whether the BJD had invited him to join the party, Sahu said he had received the offer two weeks ago. “I will take a decision in this regard today,” he added.

Commenting on the matter, OPCC vice-president Arya Kumar Gyanendra said the Congress is not worried about Sahu’s resignation. “The exit of such leaders because of whom the Congress had been struggling in Odisha, is a good sign for the party. The Congress will win the assembly elections this time in the state. I request the media to wait and see,” he added.

Notably, the Congress had put up a miserable show in Bijepur bypoll, the results of which were announced on February 28. BJD candidate Rita Sahu defeated her nearest rival and BJP candidate Ashok Panigrahi by 41,933 votes while Congress candidate Sahu finished third with a dismal show.

In terms of percentage of votes, out of a total of 2,21,144 voters of Bijepur constituency, 1,81,716 voters had exercised their franchise of which the BJD has got 56.61 per cent of votes followed by BJP (33.53 per cent) and Congress (5.65 per cent).