Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Congress, which is mired in intra-party squabbles, received another jolt today following the announcement of senior party leader Lalatendu BIdyadhar Mohapatra of launching his new outfit “Lulu Sena”.
“You will see the Lulu Sena will grow up very soon as people from all sections and all political parties will be its members,” claimed its president and Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) secretary Rajendra Panda.
Asked whether the new outfit will have any link with the Congress, Panda said “We are with Lulu Bhai as he is with the Congress. But the Lulu Sena will have no link with the Congress”.
However, Mohapatra, said it is in fact the Congress Sena.
“It is not the Lulu Sena but the Congress Sena. I am a representative of the Congress. As a representative of the party, I along with my party brothers will discharge our duties to strengthen the party,” Mohapatra told OTV.
Refusing to comment on the matter, former OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik told the media that it would be better to ask the present PCC president about the OPCC secretary who has been appointed as the president of the Lulu Sena.
While the sudden move of Mohapatra has surprised several Congress leaders, political analysts feel that the apathy of the PCC leaders towards the Youth Congress in supporting its Yuva Garjana Samavesh, might have forced him to think that he is being sidelined in the party.
Besides, it could be the pressure tactics of Mohapatra for which he has formed the new outfit like that of the Biju Vichar Manch formed by senior BJD leader Damodar Rout to assert his position in the party, they pointed out.
However, the OPCC president refused to give any comment on this to the media.