Speculations are rife again over a change of Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) leadership as senior party leaders have been summoned to New Delhi by AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi for a meeting.
The Congress leaders would be leaving for the national capital on September 5, party official sources said.
The State leaders would meet Rahul Gandhi and hold talks with him on a change of guard of the PCC and other issues relating to organisational restructuring to strengthen the party in the State, said party sources.
The development came after a three-member team of AICC observers submitted its report to the party high command after holding discussions during its recent visit to the State with more than 700 leaders. The faction owing allegiance to Niranjan Patnaik is of the opinion that Patnaik would replace incumbent PCC president Prasad Harichandan at the soonest to save the party from further damage.
An overwhelming majority of the party’s 15 MlAs are open supporters of Niranjan Patnaik.
MlA Bhujabal Majhi on Saturday said that more than 70 per cent of the party leaders are in favour of handing over the party’s mantle to Patnaik.
But the Prasad supporters are of the view that he should be allowed to continue till the 2019 general elections. They also said that as the party’s organisational elections are on, a change in the PCC leadership is unlikely now.