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Bhubaneswar: A day after the Congress Working Committee (CWC) elected Sonia Gandhi as the interim chief of the party, the Odisha unit of Congress is buoyant that the much-needed development will spur the party's failing prospects both at the State and the national level.
After party's poor show during the recent general elections, while political circles in the State are abuzz with speculations on the selection of a new Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) chief, many party leaders are hopeful that Gandhi will hand over the baton to a suitable candidate so that the party will join the upcoming by-poll battle for the Bijepur Assembly seat.
Party leaders also believe that as Gandhi is quite aware about the party's condition in Odisha, she will take an appropriate decision while taking care of the expectations of the State leaders.
“Unanimously the CWC elected Sonia Gandhi as the interim chief of Congress and she will be in charge of the party until a new president is appointed in the plenary session. The party leaders are happy with the decision,” said Narasingha Mishra, Congress legislature party leader.
Senior congress MLA Sura routray and Kanhu Charan Lenka too welcomed Sonia Gandhi's return to party high command and expressed optimism that the development will help in the growth of the party.
Expressing similar views, former OPCC president Jayadev Jena said, “Congress will get a new direction under her leadership. We hope that she will take a decision for strengthening of the party in the State and we will together work as per her directives."
However, political pundits opine that the interim Congress president might give priority on the party reorganisation in States which are going for polls in near future. A decision on Odisha PCC might be taken later.
“A leader who can take the party forward in Odisha must be elected as the new OPCC chief. There are little chances that a decision regarding this will be taken for one state only. Instead, the party high command may reorganise units of all the Pradesh Committees,” political expert Prabhu Kalyan Mohapatra said.
