Odisha: Calls for OPCC Chief’s Resignation Grow After Poll Debacle
Bhubaneswar: The cracks in the state unit of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) are visible once again with the demand for the resignation of the OPCC president Sarat Pattanayak growing louder following the party’s poll debacle in the assembly and Lok Sabha polls.
Senior Congress leader Panchanan Kanungo on Thursday said the OPCC chief should resign for the party’s bad performance in the general elections.
“I don’t know whether the OPCC chief has resigned or not. In my opinion, since the party suffered a poll debacle and he himself lost the election, he should resign. I have written a letter to him asking him to hold a meeting to find out where we went wrong,” said Kanungo.
Former OPCC president Jayadev Jena also took an indirect dig at the current OPCC chief.
“The All India Congress Committee (AICC) had given me the responsibility to do well in the assembly polls and form the government in Odisha. As I failed, I announced my resignation before the media on the very day the results were out, owning moral responsibility for the party’s poor performance. That was my own conscience. I can’t give comments on something else,” said Jena.
The OPCC chief Sarat Pattanayak, on the other hand, appears unmoved. He said the party had performed better in the 2024 polls.
“The Congress has performed better this time compared to its 2019 tally when it won only nine of the 147 assembly seats. In 2024, with our alliance which won one seat this time, we managed to get 15 seats this time. I have already discussed with the party high command all these matters. I would like to appeal to all our leaders and workers not to cause any harm to the party by raising non-issues. We should prepare how to fight and win 2029 elections,” said Pattanayak.