After former Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Niranjan Patnaik and former MPs Pradeep Majhi and Bhakta Charan Das called on Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi at his residence in New Delhi on Thursday, speculations are rife that there might be a change of guard in the State party leadership.
Gandhi has called for a meeting of all MlAs and senior leaders of the State party for a meeting in New Delhi on Saturday.
Niranjan Patnaik said, “He (Rahul) is keen to discuss the party issues with all the legislators and senior leaders. Though we are not sure what he wants to discuss with the members, we expect the discussion will be on how to strengthen the party at the grassroots level before the general elections in 2019,” he said.
“He has asked all of us to meet him on May 6,” he added.
later, the three leaders had a discussion with AICC in-charge of Odisha affairs BK Hariprasad at his residence.
Majhi, who recently resigned from post of OPCC vice-president owning responsibility for the panchayat poll debacle of the party, said he is not interested in taking over the reins and the leadership should be handed over to someone who is a strong leader.
Niranjan Patnaik said he would think “a hundred times or even a lakh times” before shouldering the responsibility of PCC chief.
After the pachayat poll results, fissures in the Congress have come to the open, with the party divided into pro-Prasad Harischandan and pro-Niranjan Patnaik factions. Some leaders have openly blamed Prasad and Odisha in-charge Hariprasad for the party’s rout in the rural polls and demanded their ouster to save the party from further destruction.