BHUBANESWAR: Appointment of the president of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) is likely to be delayed further as the visit of the two-member team of observers have been deferred because of cyclonic storm Dana.
The team comprising leader of Chhattisgarh Congress legislature party Charan Das Mahant and senior leader Meenakshi Natarajan was scheduled to visit Odisha on October 26 and 27 to meet party leaders here in connection with selection of the state president.
Sources said the team’s visit has been deferred indefinitely and is yet to be rescheduled. Another reason behind the delay will be the busy schedule of Odisha in-charge Ajoy Kumar who is contesting Assembly election in Jharkhand from Jamshedpur East seat.
Kumar is unlikely to visit Odisha before campaigning for Jharkhand election is over. Sources said the exercise for selection of OPCC president will start after the Jharkhand election. The party is now being run by a 15-member coordination committee.
The party is without a state president and other committees for the last three months. OPCC president Sarat Pattanayak and other office-bearers were removed on July 21 following the party’s disappointing performance in 2024 election.