BHUBANESWAR: Under intense attack from his own party leaders for the Nuapada bypoll debacle, president of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Bhakta Charan Das on Sunday said that internal sabotage was one of the major reasons behind the defeat of party candidate Ghasiram Majhi.
Das said that misinformation was spread against the party and its leadership during the campaign to dent the self-confidence of Majhi and those who were leading the campaign. “These forces joined hands with the BJP to damage his prospects. Strong action will be taken against such persons. Steps have already been initiated in this regard,” he said.
Claiming that the election management of Congress was very good in Nuapada, Das said the party had announced the candidate a month before the BJP and BJD. Congress was ahead in campaign by organising small meetings at panchayat and zone levels which was accepted by the people. The support of people for Congress was spontaneous, but the party campaigning was derailed by elements from within, he said.
The OPCC president alleged that the BJP changed its strategy because of the growing popularity of the Congress candidate and deputed large number of ministers, MLAs and senior leaders in the seat. “Despite misuse of official machinery and money power, our candidate could poll over 40,000 votes. The Congress has learnt a lot of lessons from the bypoll which will be utilised in future elections,” he said.
A high-level party meeting will soon be held to review all aspects of the bypoll and remedial measures will be initiated to improve performance in future elections, he said.
