BHUBANESWAR: The Congress is going to adopt the old practice of appointing three working presidents in Odisha in a bid to strengthen the party’s organisation in the State. As removal of the incumbent president Niranjan Patnaik has become more or less certain, the focus is now on who will be the working presidents of the party.
Names of MLAs Santosh Singh Saluja, Taraprasad Bahinipati and Suresh Kumar Routray are doing the rounds as the possible working presidents of the party. However, the experiment of appointment of working presidents had failed in the past.
Meanwhile, race for the top post has started in the State. Former Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) presidents Jaydev Jena and Sarat Patnaik announced that they are not in the race for the post, but said that they will be unwilling if appointed by the high command.
Meanwhile, senior legislator Suresh Kumar Routray called for a complete overhaul of the OPCC structure. Stating that not only the OPCC chief, but also the structure needs to be changed completely, Routray said that the State should be divided into four zones and placed under four working presidents. There should be at least eight vice presidents and 20 general secretaries, he added.