Congress Brings Back Old War Horse Suresh Mohapatra As President Of Cuttack City; Removes Close Aide Of Moquim

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Congress inter-party conflict is seeming to be an unstoppable one. While some leaders of the party are leaving the party owing to their personal issues, some prominent leaders are going against the party’s decision.

The impact of such things has been reflected on Saturday as Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Sarat Patnaik appointed PCC vice-president and senior leader Suresh Kumar Mohapatra as interim president of the Cuttack City Congress Committee.

Meanwhile, political analysts of the state say that the PCC has taken the decision to sideline the Cuttack-Barabati MLA Moquim as he voted for Droupadi Murmu in the recently concluded presidential election, going against the party decision.

Mohapatra replaced Giribala Behera, said to be a close aide of Cuttack-Barabati MLA Mohammed Moquim.

Mohapatra, who was the president of the Cuttack City Congress Committee from 2000 to 2011, has returned to the post after over 10 years. Moquim had replaced him in 2011.

Recently, senior Congress leader Ashok Samal, Nikunja Pasayat and Biswajit Das had quit the party, said to be good friends of Moquim.