BHUBANESWAR: Congress veteran and president of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Niranjan Patnaik on Friday resigned from his post owning moral responsibility for the party’s dismal show in the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in the state.
“I have sent my resignation letter to the president of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) Rahul Gandhi owning responsibility for the party’s debacle in Odisha,” Patnaik told mediapersons here. Patnaik, however, said he will continue to be in Congress and work to strengthen the party.
Patnaik lost from both the assembly seats Ghasipura and Bhandaripokhari he contested in the polls. He was pitted against school and mass education minister Badri Narayan Patro in Ghasipura in Keonjhar district. He also lost to women and child development minister Prafulla Samal from the Bhandaripokhari seat.
Talking about the outcome of the election, he said Congress could not withstand the Modi wave across the country. The people reposed their faith on Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister and Naveen Patnaik as the Chief Minister of Odisha.
He, however, said that there is no principle and ethics in the politics being practised of late. “Politics has been commercialized as the leaders are buying votes in exchange of money offered to the people. It is high time for the young brigade with high principles to come forward to take the mantle of leadership,” Niranjan said.
The outgoing OPCC president said Congress had given tickets to 84 new faces in the assembly who will take the party forward in the coming days.
The poor performance of Congress in Odisha has already given rise to a revolt with some senior leaders including former ministers Jagannath Patnaik and Sarat Rout questioning the poll management of the state leaderhip. Congress conceded the position of the main opposition in Odisha to BJP as its tally in the assembly slumped to 9 from 16 in the outgoing assembly.
However, Congress opened its account in the Lok Sabha as its candidate Saptagiri Ulaka won from the Koraput Lok Sabha seat defeating his nearest rival Koushalya Hikaka of the BJD.