BHUBANESWAR: The process for restructuring of the State Congress and appointment of a new chief seems to have reached its last leg with party vice-president Rahul Gandhi summoning senior leaders to New Delhi on September 5 for a discussion.Sources said Gandhi will discuss condition of Congress in Odisha and how to strengthen its base with senior leaders besides indicating his preference for next State unit president. The discussion will be based on the recommendations of the three-member team from All India Congress Committee (AICC) which has already submitted its report to Gandhi.
As many as 32 senior leaders have been called by the high command to New Delhi. Probably, this will be the last phase of the long process of discussion going on in the party to prepare an action plan for its revival in Odisha following its miserable performance in the Zilla Parishad polls in February.
However, it is not yet certain whether the AICC vice-president will meet the leaders in a group or separately. Though details of the possible changes in the party are not available, sources maintained that the post of working president is going to be revived. There is likely to be three working presidents to look after organisational matters of a specific zone. However, Congress leaders refused to divulge details about the ensuing meeting called by Gandhi.
Former minister Niranjan Patnaik and former Union minister Bhakta Charan Das remain frontrunner for the post of next president of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) while chances of the incumbent State chief Prasad Harichandan continuing for some more time cannot be ruled out altogether.
While Niranjan camp is hopeful that Gandhi will announce the name of next OPCC president on September 5, supporters of Harichandan ruled out such a possibility. A senior leader supporting continuance of Harichandan said when the process of organisational election has started, name of a new president cannot be announced. A new president of the OPCC can be announced by October-end when the election process will end, he said.