Congress to elect new leader in Odisha Assembly on Wednesday

Sambad English Bureau Published On : Jun 10, 2014 at 9:37 PM Updated On : Jun 11, 2014 at 1:27 AM

Reported by Chinmaya Dehury

Bhubaneswar, June 10:

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The state Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting to decide on the party’s new leader in the Odisha Assembly will be held on Wednesday.

Senior Congress leader Ajay Maken, who has been appointed as observer for the election, and party in-charge for Odisha BK Hariprasad will arrive in the capital city tomorrow to oversee the election of the CLP leader.

PCC president Jaydev Jena said the leader of opposition would be decided after taking the opinion of all the 16 lawmakers of the party and it would be a unanimous decision.

Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Narasingh Mishra has arrived in the city after undergoing a bypass surgery in a hospital in Mumbai. He is considered the front runner for the post of the Leader of Opposition because of his political stature, legislative experience and quality of articulation . He has been deputy leader in the Assembly and also served as the Law Minister of the state.

Some leaders in the party, perceived to have been close to the PCC president Jayadev Jena, however, are in favour of anointing the Jagatsinghpur MLA Chiranjeev Biswal in the coveted post because they feel he has youth on his side even if he lacks the stature and skills that distinguish Mishra.

Political observers in the state capital feel Biswal is a lightweight as compared to Mishra and that choosing the former would weaken the voice of the Opposition in the Assembly.