After BJD, Congress says BJP poaching its leaders in Odisha

Bhubaneshar: It is Indian National Congress that now blames the Bharatiya Janata Party of breaking its house. Rumours of leaders of the divided Odisha Congress walking away have been strong enough to evoke denials.

“The BJP is trying to poach Congress leaders as it has had been doing with the Biju Janata Dal,” senior Congress leader BK Harichandan told ET. The Odisha-in charge said this was really the time to crack the whip. Two weeks ago, Sandhya Mohapatra heading the states’ disciplinary committee had shot off showcause notices to three Congress leaders for blaming its rout in the recent rural polls on PCC President Prasad Harichandan and Hariprasad.

From 128 zilla parishads it held in 2012 it came down to 60 of 853 total zilla parishads. An act that some in the Congress say is in keeping with the “self-destructive path the party’s been on”. Asked for a reaction to Hariprasad's comments, BJP spokesperson Sajjan Sharma said, "Why don't they keep their herd together. Does the worker still have faith on Congress leaders? "


The infighting in Odisha Congress is no secret -- section in the party has been very vocal in their unhappiness with the leadership in Odisha and Delhi. The damage it was doing and how bleak 2019 looked was evident in the recent polls. Congress which retains more MLAs than the BJP, was pushed to number three in the three tiered polls.