Poll loss triggers infighting in Odisha Congress

The Congress party’s loss in the Lok Sabha and assembly elections held in Odisha led to the beginning of infighting in the state unit of the party. After the debacle, senior party leaders started blaming each other for the parties dismal performance in the twin polls.

The latest to join the bandwagon is senior tribal leader from Sundergarh in western Odisha, George Tirkey.

Holding his own party leaders for his defeat, the senior leader said,“From Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) to the District Congress Committee (DCC), our own party leaders hatched a conspiracy which led to my defeat.”

Tirkey was one of the Congress leaders who fought the last elections with their children. While the senior leader contested from tribal-dominated Sundergarh Lok Sabha constituency, his son Rohit was in the fray from Biramitrapur, an assembly segment under this seat... The father-son duo faced humiliating defeats in their respective constituencies and were pushed to the third spot behind BJD and its candidates.

Tirkey, a former MLA from Biramitrapur who was earlier with Jharkhand Mukti Morach (JMM) demanded action against the party conspirators. His allegations, however, have already been refuted by other Congress leaders from Sundergarh.

After the defeat, PCC president Niranjan Patnaik, who himself lost the polls from two assembly constituencies resigned from his post, which is yet to be accepted by the Congress high command.

The grand old party displayed its worst-ever performance in the assembly polls in Odisha since independence by capturing only nine seats. It won only one out of 21 Lok Sabha seats. In the process, the party lost the status of principal opposition to the BJP in the state for the first time.