In yet another self-destructive move, the disgraced State Congress leadership is reportedly trying to prevent veteran party leader Narasingha Mishra from becoming the leader of Opposition in the State Assembly.
Mishra, a former law Minister, has won from the Balangir Assembly seat in the face of desperate efforts by the ruling BJD to stall his entry into the legislature as he is known for his very effective role as a debater. Mishra wrested the seat for the Congress after 25 long years, trouncing BJD heavyweight and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s close friend AU Singh Deo.
The BJD, however, succeeded in preventing the election of another such strong opposition leader Bijay Mohapatra from the Mahakalpada seat.
PCC president Jayadev Jena is reportedly backing the party’s Jagatsinghpur MlA Chiranjib Biswal for the post of leader of Opposition.
Mishra, who is one of the most respected leaders in the State Congress all these years, is now being painted as an outsider and someone who lacks the ability to carry the party’s 16-member legislature wing along with him.
Many senior Congress leaders as well as political observers are of the view that Mishra is the best leader in the Congress legislature Party to take on the Naveen Patnaik Government on different issues that would figure during the debates in the Assembly. Biswal, though a two-time MlA and an asset to the party and has defeated his BJD veteran rival Bishnu Das, is lesser suited for the role of the leader of Opposition compared to a seasoned Mishra.
While the Congress high command is likely to take a final call in the issue, several senior leaders of the party say the fact that the State leadership is even looking for someone other than Mishra for the post is yet another evidence of their myopic thinking that led to the virtual decimation of the party in the elections.