BHUBANESWAR: Two groups of Youth Congress activists clashed at the Congress Bhavan on Tuesday, exposing factionalism in the party again. Tension had been simmering after Indian Youth Congress president BV Srinivas appointed Smruti Ranjan Lenka as the interim president of the Odisha Pradesh Youth Congress (OPYC) on June 18. He replaced Loknath Maharathi. However, some OPYC members had opposed Lenka’s appointment.
The clash took place when the newly appointed president reached the party headquarters. Resisting Lenka’s entry into the building, the rival group locked main gate of the Congress Bhawan. This led to a heated exchange between the two groups. When Lenka and his supporters tried to enter the party office, it led to a clash between the two factions. Police reached the spot and tried to pacify both the groups but had to use mild force to bring the situation under control.