The Congress, which is facing internal strife in many states of the country, has now got a setback in Odisha. State Congress Committee working president Pradeep Majhi has left the party. There are indications of him joining the Biju Janata Dal. The setback for the party comes just ahead of the panchayat elections to be held early next year. Pradeep Majhi has informed about his resignation by writing a letter to Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi. Pradeep Majhi wrote in his letter, 'I want to inform you with great respect that I am resigning from the primary membership of Congress. I am deeply saddened and pained to give this information.'
Majhi, one of the prominent tribal leaders of Odisha and MP from the state's Nabarangpur Lok Sabha seat, said he wanted to serve the people by being in the Congress, but the party lacked enthusiasm. On one hand, Pradeep Majhi has praised the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and on the other hand, in gestures, the leadership from the state to the local level has been termed as a failure. Pradeep Majhi wrote, 'The organization of the party has done a great job under your versatile leadership. But in the last few years, the party has consistently lost its faith due to wrong decisions and not functioning properly by people in different positions. It will take a long time to achieve this.
With this, Pradeep Manjhi said, 'I want to serve the people, but it is lacking in Congress. I am leaving the party with great sadness, for which my point should be understood. Even after this, I will continue to discharge my duty according to my ideology and will continue to serve the people with full satisfaction. Meanwhile, sources close to Pradeep Majhi say that he may soon join the BJD. State CM Naveen Patnaik is going on a tour of Nabarangpur this month. It is believed that during this time he may join the BJD. He was elected MP from this Lok Sabha seat on a Congress ticket in 2009.
Apart from Nabarangpur, Majhi is also considered to have a great influence among the tribal community in the Malkangiri district. Both these districts are tribal-dominated. In such a situation, Pradeep Majhi leaving the party for Congress is a setback for him in Odisha. Majhi has also sent a copy of his resignation to Rahul Gandhi, Odisha Congress in-charge Chella Kumar, and state president Niranjan Patnaik. Let us inform you that in 2009 also, Naba Kishor Das, who was the working president of Congress, left the party and joined BJD, and today he is the health minister of the state.
