BHUBANESWAR: Despite being keen to grab the fast-mover advantage in the State for next year’s elections, the Odisha Congress continues to be a bucket leaking at the top. In what could be a big blow to the party, many senior leaders including some legislators are likely to quit the party before the elections for greener pastures. The new leadership and the moves to announce candidates for at least 50 Assembly seats by August-end seem to have failed to stop the flight.
The exodus would have started earlier but for the leadership change which held many deserters back with a hope of a revival in party fortunes. However, the enthusiasm among the rank and file seems to have petered out with no definitive progress in the party’s approach in sight. The Congress continues to be a divided house and with no tangible steps taken to curb the factionalism, it is not in a position to take the fight to the BJD or BJP.
The party has faced an exodus since 2014 with BJD and BJP virtually poaching away not only its top leaders but also the grassroots workers, leaving the whole organisation in disarray. The Congress has almost turned a non-player in the State as evident in the 2017 panchayat elections where it was pushed to a distant third, mustering only 18 per cent votes. The recent political developments including changing perceptions over BJD-BJP rivalry following the former’s support to NDA Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson candidate had provided a window to the Congress to snatch the main opposition space. But no visible effort has been made to capitalise on the opportunity, a leader thinking of quitting the party rued. The appointment of veteran Niranjan Patnaik as president of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) had given rise to hopes of revitalisation of party organisation.
He had undertaken a Statewide tour to revitalise workers at the grassroots and also identify potential candidates for the elections. It was declared that candidates for 50 Assembly seats will be finalised and made public by August 31. Even though the month has ended, the process for identification and selection of candidates is yet to start, sources said. Patnaik’s supporters, however, said the leadership change was brought in much too late to bring about the desired change. “Less than a year to prepare for the next elections is far too short to make a dormant organisation active.
The High Command is also not very cooperative on the State unit’s requirements,” a leader complained. Sources said Patnaik wanted a small team but the High Command appointed 14 vice-presidents, 24 general secretaries and 99 secretaries in a bid to balance different factions. The pulls and pushes of the jumbo team have made it difficult to move in a coordinated manner and make a perceptible impact, they added.