BHUBANESWAR: President of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Niranjan Patnaik on Saturday requested general public, well-wishers and party leaders to donate funds to enable the party meet election expenses of the by-election to Bijepur Assembly segment scheduled on October 21.
The formal appeal by the OPCC president for donation has exposed the serious condition of Congress in Odisha. Patnaik said the party got donation of Rs 10,000 on Friday and an assurance to get Rs 75,000 on Monday.
Such an appeal by the State Congress chief has been dismissed as a ploy by the rivals to get sympathy in the by-poll. Congress candidate in the 2018 by-election to the Assembly segment Pranay Sahu had also campaigned on bullock cart to highlight the precarious financial condition of the party compared to the ruling BJD and BJP.
However, this strategy did not work and Sahu lost his deposit. Sahu has since quit the Congress and joined BJD in January, 2019.
Meanwhile, Patnaik said people of Bijepur will not always trust assurances by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik which is never kept. Referring to the candidature of Rita Sahu from the BJD, Patnaik said that sympathy does not always work.
However, Ripunath Seth, former minister and an aspirant for Congress ticket for his son, has expressed open resentment against the selection of candidate by BJD.
Stating that the selection process and visit of the committee to the constituency was an eyewash, Seth said he will not campaign for the party as he has not been entrusted with any responsibility.
Congress has given charge to nine senior leaders to station themselves in Bijepur to manage campaign. Congress candidate Dillip Kumar Panda will file nomination papers on September 30.