OdishaPlus Bureau
With the number of seats won by the Congress coming down to 9 in the 2019 Assembly elections compared to 14 in 2014, blame game continues to have an effect on the party. The lone face saver for the hundred-tear old party was its candidate Saptagiri Ulaka who won from Koraput constituency.
In the meantime, former minister Ganeswar Behera who was defeated from Kendrapara Assembly seat by former Finance Minister and BJD candidate Sashi Bhusan Behera has blamed intra-party fighting being the reason behind the party’s disaster in the elections.“We have failed to learn from the past,” Behera has said.
Out of the seven Assembly segments under Kendrapara Lok Sabha seat, Congress candidates have been defeated in both the assembly segments – Aul and Rajnagar which were in the Congress hand.
Senior leaders continue to accuse Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Niranjan Patnaik for poor performance at the hustings. Putting the blame on State Congress leadership for the present situation in the party, former Union Minister Kanhu Charan Lenka has said there will be a major restructuring in Odisha Congress.“There will be a Nabakalebar of Congress and the party will again come to power in 2024,” Lenka has said.
Besides Niranjan Patnaik, former Chief Minister Hemananda Biswal too is in the line of fire of Congress leaders and workers after the party’s poll debacle in the Sundargarh Lok Sabha constituency. George Tirkey, who lost the election, attributed internal sabotage and infighting as the root causes of Congress’ dismal performance.
George said one of Hemananda’s daughters contested on a BJD ticket from Sundargarh Lok Sabha seat while the other fought on a Congress ticket from Sundargarh Assembly segment. What does it mean, Tirkey questioned.
Congress leaders in Sundergarh have pointed out that just eight months before the elections, Hemananda, using his influence, managed to make his daughter Sunita Biswal the working president of Sundargarh District Congress Committee (SDCC) and sought an MP ticket for her.
Tirkey’s supporters said after it became clear that George would be Congress’ candidate from the Parliamentary constituency, Sunita switched sides and got BJD nomination from the seat whereas Amita coerced her father and became Congress’ candidate for the Assembly segment.
OPCC general secretary RK Sarangi has, however, said that the party is collecting feedback from all Assembly segments and after scrutiny, appropriate recommendations would be made for corrective action.
