Changing PCC chief prior to polls won't augur well: Senior Cong leader

"Changing PCC chiefs prior to polls has not yielded desired results in past and same may be repeated in future," said Patnaik while talking to media.

He continued that the party high command was not aware about the actual situation in the state.

"Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi might not be getting proper feedback on party affairs in Odisha," said the former MP.

Reacting to OPCC President Jayadev Jena's recent remark that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was responsible for his removal from the state congress chief post ahead of 2009 polls, Patnaik said, "When OPCC presidents were replaced in 2002, 2004 and 2009, it was said that the decisions were taken in the interest of the party. But if Jayadev Jena’s removal in 2009 was a “conspiracy”, then who conspired to remove Niranjan Patnaik?"

Notably, the OPCC president on Sunday alleged the BJD supremo of hatching a conspiracy against him for his dethronement from Congress’ top job after the party achieved success in various elections under his leadership.
 
“Had the Congress not won Laxmipur by-polls, had the party not succeeded in grabbing 305 Zilla Parishad seats in 2007 Panchayat elections, Naveen Patnaik would not have been compelled to hatch plot to remove me from PCC president’s post,” Jena said while addressing a gathering of Congress rank and file at the party headquarters here.