The All India Congress Committee (AICC) has appointed you as the new state unit president at a time when the party's fortunes are on the slide. Its strength in the Assembly has come down to 16 and the party, for the first time, could not win even a single seat in last Lok Sabha elections.

This is a time of traumatic transitions for the Congress. The party is passing through a very difficult phase in the state following four successive defeats. It has remained out of governance for the last 15 years. The situation warrants urgent remedial action. The Congress party has the resilience to revive and re-emerge as the number one party in the state. And we have the advantage of the time available to us as the next elections are in 2019. But, I admit, it is a daunting task - very challenging. For the Congress, it's a now-or-never kind of situation. We have to make it happen.

What, according to you, were the factors that the led the AICC to select you for the coveted assignment?

I am grateful to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi for the confidence they have reposed on me. The Congress leadership has the distinction of picking up people from the grassroots level. I am an ordinary Congress worker who was earlier in the youth Congress. This (my appointment) reflects the decision-making process in a democratic political party.

One of the challenges before you is that the Congress is a faction-ridden organisation in the state. How will you overcome these odds and rejuvenate the party?

(Pauses) There are differences of opinion, which are seen as factionalism. We will try to resolve such differences as best as possible. The decision-making in the party will be a collective affair. Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) will be a cohesive team. Team work means 'all we and no me'. In fact, we will soon convene a meeting of senior leaders, frontline party functionaries and representatives of frontal outfits and discuss at length the confronting the party and the people. We have to make efforts to meet the aspirations of the people. We will deliver what people expect us to deliver. It will be a collective effort.

There are younger leaders in the party such as Chiranjib Biswal and Lalatendu Bidyadhar Mohatpatra who too were expecting to lead the party in the state. Don't you think that you will be facing problems in the coming days?

This is a temporary assignment. This responsibility has been assigned to me. I am the 43rd president of the Odisha PCC. I am not the first and am not going to be the last PCC chief. Anyone can have the opportunity in the days to come. In fact, they are all eminent popular leaders and are known for their abilities. They will guide me.

Your appointment as the PCC president coincided with the return of J.B. Patnaik to the state (Last week, JB came back to the state after completing his tenure as the governor of Assam). How do you see his return?

J.B. Patnaik is an outstanding statesman in contemporary politics in the country with profound political experience and a vision for the state. We will best utilise such advantages.

After you have been appointed as the PCC president, you have made it clear that you will bring back all those who have left the party in the recent past. Does it indicate that you will make attempts to bring Soumya Ranjan Patnaik who left the party and floated his own outfit?

(Pauses) Those who will be interested to come back or join us will be most welcome, of course, with the approval of the party high command. We also take local political factors into account.

You say that you are an ordinary party worker of the Congress. You must be aware that to run a party, one needs huge funds. From where will you get it?

Like other political parties, we have friends, patrons and well-wishers. During the last couple of days, I have received many phone calls where common people have assured me of help and assistance. I will discuss the issues with my senior leaders and with the approval of the AICC, we can identify at least 10 donors from each block to donate something for the party. With this, we can do two things. We will get the funds and also their active involvement in the party work. But at this moment, we will have to manage with available financial resources.

You are now the PCC president. You must have assessed the factors that went wrong for the party in the last election.

I am responsible for my own defeat (Harichandan lost the Satyabadi Assembly seat). I have learnt lessons from such setbacks. Now, it's for me to take corrective measures that will be useful in discharging my duty as the party president.

There are many leaders in the party who are of the view that the PCC president should be given at least a five-year tenure. The leader should not be changed just before the elections...

It largely depends on my performance and public perception about it. Based on that, the party leadership will decided whether to allow me to continue or not. Last-moment changes are not desirable. But any specific last-moment change should be viewed appropriately considering the factors that determine such decisions.

You are talking of revival of the party when Naveen's image is soaring day by day. How will you deal with this situation?

We have exposed scams after scams without understanding the basic strategy of marketing. By pointing out how bad the product is does not make the consumers will switch over to another product. To sell your product, you should let the consumers know how good your product is. Naveen's image is the BJD's USP. The money-deposit scam has torn his image, his so-called image has been eclipsed. Now is the time for our party to go to the people and speak about our vision. We will tell our positive things to make people to come back to us.

The BJP seems to be emerging as the number two party in the state after BJD. Your party has almost been relegated to the third position. How will you check it?

Our voting share has gone down. But it is still at 25.73 per cent. The BJP is not number two even though it is trying to increase its strength in the state. We will not allow the situation to persist any longer. It will be a fight between Congress and BJD. We are confident that we will revive the party. Our party is going to take up the cause of the people and hit the streets.

You are not a legislator now. How will you strike a balance between your legislature party and the organisation? There have always been differences of opinion between the two.

Compatibility between the organisation and the legislature party is indispensable. An interface needs to be created between the parent party and the legislature organ to make the political approach coherent and beneficial to the party. We will do it.

Your father-in-law Suresh Routray is an outspoken Congress leader. He speaks from his heart. Sometimes, he makes comments that create an awkward situation for the party...

(Smiles) Personal relations should not influence politics. He is a politician on his own and had been in politics for 25 years before I got married. I joined National Students Union of India (student wing of Congress) way back in 1986 and the mainstream politics in 1990 by contesting against Biju Patnaik. Our relation has nothing to do with politics. We regard individual political conviction and way of practising politics.