Bhubaneswar: In a major setback to the Odisha Congress, at least 41 party workers supporting expelled leader and former MLA Mohammed Moquim resigned from the party on Saturday, citing strong dissatisfaction with the state leadership.
According to sources, the resignations include senior as well as grassroots-level leaders such as a former Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) secretary, a former party spokesperson, former block Congress presidents, a Mahila Congress secretary, and several youth and student leaders.
The dissenting workers alleged “ineffective and directionless leadership” of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) under its current president Bhakta Charan Das. They claimed the party has failed to take up key issues affecting the people of the state.
“We do not accept the manner in which the state Congress is functioning. The Odisha Congress has failed to raise people’s issues. A political party should function with a clear goal reflecting national and state concerns as well as the mindset of its workers,” a resigning leader said.
The leaders further alleged that the Congress in Odisha has become overly focused on elections, neglecting its own organisation and grassroots workers.
“Congress has completely failed in Odisha as it works only to win elections, ignoring its leaders and workers. We raised Odisha’s issues with the national leadership, including Rahul Gandhi, K C Venugopal and Mallikarjun Kharge, but there was no outcome,” the leader added.
The group also cited the party’s poor performance in the Nuapada by-election, alleging that the Congress failed to introspect or review the reasons for its defeat even after the debacle.
The mass resignation comes in the wake of the expulsion of senior Congress leader Mohammed Moquim. The dissident leaders termed the decision arbitrary and reflective of a widening gap between the state leadership and grassroots cadres.
The political developments have gained further significance as Mohammed Moquim, former MLA from Barabati-Cuttack, recently indicated that a new political party is likely to be launched by the end of March.