Bhubaneswar: Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Niranjan Patnaik on Monday exuded confidence that the party would be back in power in 2019.
The Pradesh Congress Committee chief made the observation after attending the co-ordination committee meeting of the party.
The Congress has been out of power in the state since 2000, and its performance over the years has been dismal. At present, the Congress has only 14 MLAs in the 147-members Assembly.
Patnaik said: "We discussed the roadmap for the future and the strategy to strengthen the Congress at grassroots level. By Lord Jagannath's grace, we will be back in Odisha."
He has even posted the photos of the co-ordination committee meeting held under the chairmanship of All India Congress Committee Odisha in-charge Jitendra Singh. Leader of Opposition Narasingh Mishra and others also attended the meeting.
Patnaik also said: "We are working on whether we will appoint a senior member to be in charge of a district or Lok Sabha constituency to look after the party affairs. It will shortly be sorted out."
As soon as the meeting was over, Patnaik raked up the missing key of the ratna bhandar (treasury of the Jagannath temple in Puri), making it clear that it would not allow the BJP to carry the sentiments of the 4.5 crore of Odias with it. "As many as 102 days have passed. Still there is no update on the whereabouts of the ratna bhandar key. Does people's faith have no importance for the BJD government?" he said.
As a part of the strategy, the Congress on Monday took the first step to sort out the differences among the faction-ridden Koraput Congress district unit. "Both Taraprasad Bahinipati and Krushna Chandra Sagaria, who are arch-rivals, have been asked to sort out their differences. They posed for a photograph before the media," said a senior leader.
Both Bahinipati and Sagaria in front of the media hugged each other and addressed as brothers. "Bahinipati is like my elder brother. Though we have differences, we stand united for the greater cause of the party," said Sagaria.
The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee working president Naba Das said: "As it's a big party, there is bound to be differences of opinion. But, it should not be taken seriously."
