Bhubaneswar, Oct. 31: AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi has summoned all the district unit presidents from the state to elicit their views on the demand for a change of guard in the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC).

Party sources said that Rahul would meet 33 district Congress committee (DCC) presidents in two phases.

In the first phase, he will meet the leaders on November 2. However, sources close to the PCC leadership maintained that the meeting had been called to chalk out a strategy for the forthcoming panchayat polls scheduled in February and March next year.

Two DCC presidents from Angul and Dhenkanal today said that they had received calls from Rahul Gandhi's office asking them to come down to New Delhi for discussion. Dhenkanal DCC president Sudhir Samal said: "I will talk to PCC president Prasad Harichandan and chalk out my tour programme."

Though the PCC office bearers claimed that the meeting would discuss party's preparedness for the panchayat polls, insiders asserted that Rahul would seek the opinion of the district-level leaders on the ongoing tussle between the PCC president Harichandan and Congress legislature party leader Narasingha Mishra.

Mishra and 15 Congress MLAs had met Rahul on October 17 and demanded for removal of the PCC president accusing him of inaction. The MLAs, led by Mishra, had met various senior leaders, including Congress president Sonia Gandhi's personal aide Vincent George to apprise them of the party's state of affairs in the state. Later, Rahul had summoned Harichanandan and had reportedly a discussion with him about the grievances of the MLAs that they were not being consulted by the state leadership in party matters.

During the meeting with the MLAs, the Congress vice-president had reportedly made it clear that the leader would not be changed at the moment. While this was being interpreted by Prasad loyalists that the party was backing their leaders, the MLAs feel that the leader would be changed after the panchayat polls.<>

Disturbed over the tussle between the two wings, Rahul had asked AICC general secretary in-charge of Odisha affairs, B.K. Hariprasad to sort out the matter. Hariprasad who was to come to Bhubaneswar, however, had cancelled his trip after getting to know that the MLAs were not going to relent.

Party sources said that majority of DCC presidents are likely to back Harichandan. Incidentally, two MLAs - Debendra Sharma and Prakash Behera, who also happen to be DCC presidents of Kendrapara and Cuttack respectively, have not been called for the meeting in the first phase. So is the wife of party chief whip Tara Prasad Bahinipati who heads the district unit in Koraput. All the three leaders refused to comment.

The difference between Prasad and Narasingha Mishra had intensified on the Mahanadi river water dispute. Mishra had called an all-party meeting on August 3 that was boycotted by the PCC President on the plea that the party had not endorsed the meeting. The party on the other hand had observed all Odisha Bandh on August 16.

In another development, the party today observed the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and birth anniversary of Sardar Ballava Bhai Patal. PCC president Prasad Harichandna and other senior leaders paid rich tributes to the two leaders at a function.