BHUBANESWAR: With the prospects of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) taking off in Odisha getting dim by the day, efforts have started in the Congress to bring former chief minister Giridhar Gamang and his family back to the party fold in the near future.
Sources said several Congress leaders have already taken up the matter with the general secretary of All India Congress Committee (AICC) KC Venugopal during their visit to New Delhi last week. The issue was also raised by some leaders when Odisha in-charge A Chellakumar was here in connection with a party programme on July 12.
The interest shown by a section of Congress leaders from the undivided Koraput district for the return of Gamang, however, seems to be part of a factional power play in the region. According to sources, Congress whip in the Assembly and Jeypore MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati is keen to get Gamang family back to the party to counter the growing clout of Koraput MP Saptagiri Ulaka. Bahinipati met Gamang senior at Gunupur on Monday and discussed the matter with him, they stated.
Besides, Bahinipati is also nursing a grudge against the state leadership after the removal of his wife Meenakshi Bahinipati from the post of president of the Koraput district Congress committee. Though the MLA and his wife have been appointed as senior vice-president and secretary of OPCC respectively, the move has failed to assuage their feelings.