Bhubaneswar, May 8: The exercise to change the Odisha Congress leadership begun today with All India Congress Committee vice-president Rahul Gandhi meeting state leaders in New Delhi to find a suitable replacement for the Pradesh Congress Committee president Prasad Harichandan.

Though none of the state Congress leaders who met Rahul divulged the details of the meeting, sources said change in the state leadership was one of the issues that was discussed as part of the party's strategy to revitalise the organisation in the state.

Senior leaders who met Rahul included former Union ministers Srikant Jena and Bhakta Charan Das, former Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) presidents Niranjan Patnaik, Jaydev Jena and Sarat Patnaik, former ministers Kishore Patel and Jagannath Patnaik, Congress legislature party leader Narasingh Mishra and PCC chief Prasad Harichandan.

All the 16 Congress MLAs also met Rahul.

"I have taken responsibility for the party's defeat in the panchayat polls. Today's discussion was about how to move forward taking into account the strengths and weaknesses of the party," All-India Congress Committee general secretary in charge of Odisha affairs B.K. Hariprasad told The Telegraph.

Apart from meeting most of the leaders individually, Rahul also met some of the senior party leaders in a group.

Following the meeting, Patnaik said: "Rahul ji sought to know the reasons for the party's debacle in the recently-held panchayat polls and what could be done to strengthen the party ahead of the 2019 general elections."

He, however, denied any discussion on the issue of change of leadership.

Earlier, Patnaik had told the media he would think a hundred times before taking up the reins of the party. "The party cannot grow unless all the party workers work in an united manner," he said.

Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra was guarded about offering his opinion. "The discussion was fruitful. I am satisfied with the discussion. But how can I talk to the media about it? You better wait," said Mishra.

Mishra had led a delegation of MLAs to Delhi last October and met Rahul. In the meeting, the MLAs had raised issue of the change in leadership and they had also cautioned the leadership that if a change was not effected, the party would have to pay the price in the panchayat polls.

The party could only win 60 zila parishad seats this time as compared to the 128 it had won in the 2012 panchayat polls.

The party legislative wing's relationship with the PCC had soured after Harichandan openly objected the leader of Opposition Mishra's move to organise a protest on the Mahanadi river water dispute and his leading a delegation to Chhattisgarh on the issue in August last year.

The relationship between Harichandan and Mishra was strained to such an extent that the PCC had recommended disciplinary action against two MLAs - Taraprasad Bahinipati and Prafulla Majhi - for allegedly making critical remarks about the state leadership and AICC general secretary in charge of Odisha affairs B.K. Hariprasad for the party's poor performance in the panchayat polls.

Sources revealed that central party leadership was particularly annoyed, as there is no co-ordination between the PCC and the Congress legislature party.