BHUBANESWAR: Many senior leaders of the State Congress have demanded that the All India Congress Committee (AICC) should take action to resolve the leadership issue in the party which has cropped up again following its dismal performance in the Pipili by-election. Amidst the growing chorus for the removal of OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik from the post, secretary of AICC Sarat Rout said that Patnaik should make his stand clear on the issue, whether he will continue in his post or quit.
Further confusion over the matter will have a negative impact on the party when the panchayat poll is round the corner, he added. Sources in the party said that there are several options if Patnaik will press for his resignation. The AICC may ask any of the two working presidents to remain in charge till a regular president is announced or may appoint somebody in his place.
The situation has, however, become further complicated as one of the working presidents, Pradeep Majhi, seems to be on his way out from the party. Patnaik, however, said that he will continue to remain in the post till the AICC takes a call in this regard. Stating that the post of OPCC president is not permanent and his continuance in the post is an internal matter of Congress, Patnaik said that he had written to the AICC before Pipili bypoll and is waiting for its decision.