Bhubaneswar: Senior Congress leader and former president of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Niranjan Patnaik on Wednesday squarely blamed the State PCC leadership and the All India Congress Committee (AICC) for the dismal show of his party in the Bijepur byelection.
Talking to media persons here, Patnaik said AICC delayed its decision in the selection of the party candidate for the byelection. The decision taken by the AICC was not correct as it failed to take note of the political scenario in Odisha. As a result, we failed to discharge our duty properly and could not win the trust of the people of Bijepur who subsequently lost their faith in us.
Congress candidate Pranaya Sahu, who managed to get only 10274 votes (5.65 percent), said the Bijepur byelection was a game of money.
“For an ordinary farmer, it was not just impossible to pump in such huge amount. Besides, the financial assistance the party had provided was like a drop in the ocean. As a result, the Congress votes were diverted to BJD and BJD who managed to take away the party’s vote by influencing the people,” Sahu said.
He further said while the BJD and BJP had started poll preparations in Bijepur six months before the election, the Congress leadership did not make any attempt to strengthen the grassroots level. “Failure in roping in new members and lack of proper organisation contributed to the party’s miserable show,” he noted.
He urged the party leadership to introspect on the party’s poor show.
