Congress begins to rebuild party in Odisha after poll drubbing

Charan Das Mohant, Congress Legislature Party leader of Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly, has been assigned to submit a report to the AICC on the leadership and organisational affairs of the Odisha Congress.

Representative image | Photo Credit: ANI

Three months after the All India Congress Committee (AICC) dissolved the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) in the wake of the party’s poor performance in the 2024 elections, the Congress has begun deliberating on leadership and organisational reforms to revitalise the State unit.

The AICC has appointed Charan Das Mohant, Congress Legislature Party leader of Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly, to furnish a detailed report on the leadership and organisational affairs of the OPCC. The committee has Meenakshi Natarajan as the other member.

A letter issued by K. C. Venugopal, AICC general secretary, asked Mr. Mohant to coordinate with Ms. Natarajan for holding deliberations.

In July, the AICC had dissolved the Sarat Pattnayak-led OPCC after the party performed poorly in the elections. Even district and block presidents of the party were asked to resign. The Congress had managed to win just 14 out of the 147 Assembly seats – less than 10%. Though it improved its tally by five from the nine won in 2019, a majority of its tall leaders failed to win seats. All former presidents who had fought the Assembly election lost.

As an interim measure, the party had constituted a 14-member coordination committee to oversee its affairs. However, no senior Congress leader could be seen at the party’s State headquarters. In the absence of a president, some youth Congress and student wing leaders helmed the party’s protest programmes. Apart from the protests over the alleged assault on a State government employee by the son of Governor Raghubar Das and the custodial torture of an Army officer and his fiancée at the Bharatpur police station, the party has largely been absent from the public discourse.

Ramachandra Kadam, recently appointed as the Congress Legislature Party leader in the Odisha Legislative Assembly, has made some impact with his statements on key issues. However, according to party insiders, the Congress is eyeing a new face to rejuvenate the party in the State. Senior leaders, many of whom have been given multiple leadership roles over the years, have been unable to significantly improve the party’s performance in the elections.