BHUBANESWAR: Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly and senior Congress leader Narasingh Mishra met party vice-president Rahul Gandhi at New Delhi today fueling speculation over organisational changes in the state unit.
The meeting of Mishra with Gandhi has assumed importance because of the Congress Legislature Party's (CLP) consistent demand for the ouster of president of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Prasad Harichandan after the party's unimpressive performance in the panchayat polls.
The two leaders met days after the All India Congress Committee (AICC) announced a three-member team to assess the situation in Odisha and recommend the name of next OPCC president. Mishra, who met Gandhi for nearly 30 minutes in the afternoon, however, declined to reveal details about his discussion with Gandhi.
Sources said the three-member team from AICC will visit Odisha soon to interact with party leaders and workers to elicit opinion about the next OPCC president and submit a report to the AICC president Sonia Gandhi.
Former minister Niranjan Patnaik and former union minister Bhakta Charan Das have emerged as front runner for the post of OPCC president. While the CLP is supporting Patnaik as the next OPCC president, Das has got the backing of the Harichandan camp.