“Today marks the conclusion of a significant chapter in my political journey. I have tendered my resignation from the primary membership of Congress, ending my family’s 55-year relationship with the party…,” Milind Deora, the son of Congress veteran Murli Deora, wrote on social media X.

“I am grateful to all leaders, colleagues & karyakartas for their unwavering support over the years,” Deora added.

Deor dismissed the speculation of his joining the Shiv Sena-led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shindeas “rumours”.

Deora recently expressed his displeasure over the Shiv Sena (UBT) staking a claim to the Mumbai South Lok Sabha constituency public, and told reporters that he was holding discussions with his supporters. “I am listening to my supporters…Haven’t taken a decision yet,” the former Mumbai South MP said when asked if he was chalking out a plan with his supporters.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led faction had staked a claim to contest the Mumbai South constituency, represented by Deora before 2014, in the upcoming general elections, which seemed to have not gone down well with the Congress leader. In a video statement issued last Sunday, Deora said that if such statements by an “alliance partner” don’t stop, his party too can announce candidates for seats.

Notably, the Shiv Sena (UBT) is an alliance partner of the Congress and the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) in the Maha Vikas Aghadi in Maharashtra. Deora had said since the formal talks on sharing of seats were yet to be concluded, nobody should make claims and counter-claims.

Deora, son of Congress veteran Murli Deora, had won the Mumbai South seat in 2004 and 2009. He ended up as the first runner-up in the subsequent elections in 2014 and 2019 against Shiv Sena (Undivided) leader Arvind Sawant. Deora had said his family represented the seat for 50 years and wasn’t elected on any “wave”.

As the first speaker from the Opposition on the bill, Sonia Gandhi said her party supports the legislation but demanded a reservation for Other Backward Classes within the 33% quota for women. She also said that speaking on the bill was an emotional moment for her as her husband Rajiv Gandhi had introduced reservation in local bodies.

Speaking in Hindi, the former Congress chief said, “On behalf of the Indian National Congress, I stand here in support of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam. From smoke-filled kitchens to flood-lit stadiums, the Indian woman’s journey has been a long one. But she has finally reached her destination.”

Speaking at a presser, BJP’s Rengali MLA Nauri Nayak on Friday said that it would not be possible for the MLAs of western Odisha to reach Bhubaneswar to attend the election as the celebration continues till the next day. “Though we had demanded for a change in election date, the government paid no heed to it,” he said.

Nuakhai is an important agrarian festival of western Odisha and it is celebrated with pomp and gaiety in several districts, including Sambalpur, Balangir, Bargarh, Sundargarh, Kalahandi, Deogarh, Jharsuguda, Boudh and Sonepur.

“The state government is being run by non-Odia bureaucrats and they seems to have no knowledge about Nuakhai and western Odisha. It is unfortunate that the BJD leaders from western Odisha also did not raise the issue with the government,” he said.

As per the direction of Leader of Opposition Jayanarayan Mishra and Odisha BJP president Manmohan Samal, the party’s legislators would boycott the poll, he added.

On Thursday, Congress Legislature Party leader Narasingha Mishra had told the media that the party’s MLAs will not join the election process on September 21 as the festival is observed for two days across the western region of the state. “Despite protests, the government did not listen to our problem. The Congress MLAs will not be able to attend the Speaker election on that day,” he said.

Narasingha also accused Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik of meting out “step-motherly” treatment to the people of the region.

While declining to comment on the matter as it is under the Department of Parliamentary Affairs, Planning and Convergence Minister Rajendra Dholakia, who hails from western Odisha, rubbished the allegation. “The CM has always given importance to Western Odisha. Be it medical colleges in Kalahandi and Balangir, there are several examples to show that the allegation is not true,” he told PTI.

On Wednesday, state Congress media cell chairman Ganeswar Behera had said that ‘Nuakhai’ will be celebrated on September 20 while ‘Nuakhai Bhetghat’ will be held on September 21. “People across western Odisha celebrate the festival with enthusiasm and fervour and partake the offering after ‘Nabanna’ is offered to Maa Samaleswari. In view of the importance of this popular festival, the state government generally declares holiday for two days every year. However, only one holiday has been declared this year,” he said in a statement.

Notably, the Speaker post has remained vacant since the resignation of Bikram Keshari Arukha on May 12. Deputy Speaker Rajanikant Singh is in charge now.

“Five Congress MLAs from Odisha recently visited Delhi to meet Rahul Gandhi, who gave his consensus to visit Odisha towards the last week of October. The date will be finalised after discussion with OPCC President Sarat Pattanayak,” said the Khariar MLA.

He further informed that the MLAs proposed to hold meetings at its four zones in Odisha and discussed way to strengthen the party’s organisation with Rahul. “We have requested him to address rallies in the four zones and he has promised to visit the state to strengthen our party. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra may also accompany him,” he added.

Rahul had last visited Odisha in 2019.

The Congress has nine MLAs in the 147-member Odisha Assembly. The next election in the state is due in 2024.

Senior Congress leaders from Odisha on Monday expressed their unhappiness over the composition of the new CWC constituted by party president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday.

Though former Union Minister Bhakta Charan Das has been appointed as in-charge by the party high command, there is a feeling among the state leaders that Odisha has all along been ignored by the AICC.

Expressing unhappiness over the development, veteran Congress leader and MLA Suresh Routray told the media that gross injustice is being done to Odisha by the AICC with no one from the state being included in the CWC during the last several years. “The AICC has been neglecting, underestimating and humiliating Odisha by not giving adequate attention to the state and its leaders,” the Jatni MLA said.

The firebrand Congress leader said that he will draw the attention of Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Kharge and seek justice for Odisha.

Voicing similar views, senior leader and former state Congress president Niranjan Patnaik said it appears that the AICC does not require the services of the leaders from Odisha.

Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Sarat Pattnayak said they would have been happy had more leaders from the state been accommodated in CWC. The OPCC chief further said that he would visit New Delhi and request Kharge to include 2-3 leaders from Odisha in the apex body of the party.

The list also includes Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, Adhir Ranjan Choudhary, A K Antony, and Anand Sharma, among others.

Notably, Tharoor, who contested Congress President poll last year against Kharge, and Sharma were signatory to the letter written by the G-23 group demanding reforms in the party in 2020. Pilot, on the other hand, has been locked in a leadership tussle with Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot since 2018.

Pilot is likely to be made in-charge of a big state, NDTV reported quoting sources.

It is for the first time that the Congress constituted its top-decision since Kharge took charge as its president in October 2022. This has come months ahead of crucial assembly elections in states like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh and eight months ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Former Odisha chief secretary Bijay Patnaik, who was formally inducted into the grand old party in February this year, was also present.

Panchanan Dash was formerly secretary, Micro Small and Medium Enterprise Development including food processing Industries. He is currently president, Forum for Entrepreneurship Development.

This has come amid a storm raging in the Odisha Congress, which is already struggling to stay relevant in state politics, over suspension of Cuttack Barabati MLA Mohammed Moquim and former OPCC working president, Chiranjib Biswal with several party workers vehemently opposing the party high command’s decision.

The Odisha Congress Executive Committee meeting to discuss the party’s strategy for next year’s Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections was held on Saturday in a hotel instead of its state headquarters reportedly due to agitation by supporters of the two suspended leaders. The OPCC president claimed that the meeting did not discuss the suspension matter and there is no dissidence in the party. “Suspension of Moquim and Biswal are individual matters which can be discussed in different forum. The state executive meeting focused on the ensuing 2024 general elections. We are preparing a blueprint,” Pattanayak told reporters.

According to sources, Odisha Congress President, Sarat Pattanayak had complained about both the leaders before the Disciplinary Action Committee (DAC). Based on the complaint, replies were sought from both leaders. However, the DAC found the replies to be unsatisfactory following which, the committee decided to place both of them under suspension.

When contacted, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee chief, Sarat Pattanayak said this is the decision of the high command and we have to accept it. 

In his reaction, MLA Mohd. Moquim said, “We came to know about our suspension from a letter doing rounds on WhatsApp. I had never given any anti-party statements. But after my participation in the voting to elect Droupadi Murmu as the President of India, the OPCC chief wrote to the party’s high command. And after receiving the show-cause, I had already given my reply. But I have not done anything against the party. However, I am accepting the party’s decision.”

“The party has suspended us temporarily. But we should get by. In the coming days, we will think about how can we associate with the party and strengthen it. Today, Sarat Pattanayak is the party chief. Tomorrow, someone else will be in his place. But I am with the Congress,” Moquim added. 

Senior journalist Prasanna Mohanty said, “The Congress has come to the action mode which is the need of the hour. The party may have less number of MLAs and workers but there would be discipline in the party. More than half of the total Congress MLAs are showing undue support to the ruling party. MLA Suresh Routray is often found giving statements contrary to the party’s stand. If the leaders of the Opposition party are leaning toward the ruling party, the former can’t make progress.”

“The party has total nine MLAs. The suspension of the MLA suggests that the party is trying to maintain discipline at any cost,” Mohanty added.

Addressing a press meet in Bhubaneswar, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Sarat Pattanayak said the state government’s “Ama Odisha Nabin Odisha” is another scheme to fool the people to grab votes.

Coming down heavily on Naveen Patnaik government over the issue, the PCC chief sought to know the status of several schemes launched by the BJD dispensation in the past.

While announcing the scheme with a sanctioned budget of Rs 4,000 crore to build rural infrastructure, the BJD government must tell people as to how long the scheme is going to last as many such proposals made in the past were short lived and are now forgotten, he said.

“Such schemes are announced by the BJD government before elections to fool people. However, the government forgets about these schemes after elections,” Pattanayak claimed.

The Congress leader further stated that by introducing the scheme to augment rural infrastructure the BJD government admits that no step had been taken by it earlier for the development of villages in the state.

While people are deprived of drinking water facilities, thousands of schools are functioning from dilapidated structures, he said, adding that vegetable prices have skyrocketed as the government failed to build cold storages.

However, people are not aware of the game plan of BJD and they will teach it a lesson in the next elections, the PCC chief added.

It may be noted here that the state Cabinet on Monday approved the proposal to modify “Ama Gaon Ama Bikash” into “Ama Odisha Nabin Odisha” with sanctioned budget of Rs 4,000 crore.

The new scheme would be effective from financial year 2023-24 for taking up measures to augment rural infrastructure leading to accelerated growth as well as to promote, preserve and protect Jagannath culture and tradition of the state.

The scheme aims at providing missing links to the existing small and essential projects and development of infrastructure. It plans to achieve empowerment of women and youth, bridge critical gap in education and provide digital and sports facilities.

There is budget provision of Rs 4000 crore under the scheme from the State Budget. The scheme will cover all Gram Panchayats in each block with entitlement of Rs 50 lakh. The project cost will be between Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 10 lakh.

Senior party leader and Jeypore MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati on Tuesday informed that the All India Congress Committee (AICC) has called its nine MLAs from Odisha to Delhi to attend an important meeting. He said that the Congress legislators are scheduled to leave for Delhi in the evening today.

As per available reports, discussion is likely to be held tomorrow on party’s next strategy in connection with ED notices to Rahul and Sonia Gandhi .

Meanwhile, Congress leaders on Monday, 20 June, met President Ram Nath Kovind to discuss alleged mistreatment of MPs by the police during their protest against the ED’s questioning of Rahul Gandhi, as well as the newly unveiled Agnipath recruitment scheme.

The ED had registered the case to probe alleged financial irregularities in the party-promoted group Young Indian, which owns the National Herald newspaper.