Congress removes Rourkela unit chief Rashmi Ranjan Padhi, women wing president quits party
ROURKELA: The Rourkela unit of Congress seems to be in total disarray ahead of the crucial general elections.
The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) abruptly removed the party’s Rourkela district president Rashmi Ranjan Padhi on Sunday evening. In another shocker, the Mahila Congress president of Rourkela unit Nirupama Baliarsingh quit the party on Monday.
Padhi was replaced with former Rourkela District Congress Committee (RDCC) president Rabi Ray. Padhi, a former OPCC secretary, had assumed charge of RDCC president in November last year. His removal was not surprising for many after the poor response to Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in Rourkela.
A senior Congress leader requesting anonymity said OPCC president Sarat Pattanayak and AICC’s Odisha in-charge Ajoy Kumar were upset over the poor mobilisation of party workers during Rahul’s show. Before the Nyaya Yatra, Padhi had reportedly stopped responding to senior Congress leaders as he was unable to handle the pressure.
On the other hand, Baliarsingh said she was feeling suffocated with infighting in RDCC. She accused RDCC leaders of not following the ideology of Congress while the OPCC remained a mute spectator.
Congress insiders privately blamed the style of functioning and seriousness of OPCC in strengthening the party organisation at the grassroots level. Though Baliarsingh was made Mahila Congress president of Rourkela four years back, she never formed the district committee. Around four months back, her tenure was renewed by the OPCC without any review of her performance.
Incidentally, tribal leader and four-time MLA of Birmitrapur George Tirkey had resigned from the post of RDCC president in March 2022 and later quit from the primary membership of Congress blaming infighting and non-cooperation from the local leaders and OPCC leadership.
Several senior Congressmen rued at the prolonged pathetic state of affairs of the party in the politically-important Rourkela Assembly constituency. They said the Congress had last won the Assembly seat in 1995. The party candidates in 2000, 2014 and 2019 polls had to lose their security deposits. In 2009 election, the Congress nominee had narrowly saved his security money.