OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik resigns after election debacle

Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Niranjan Patnaik Friday announced his resignation from the post in the wake of the party's electoral debacle in the state.

"I have sent my resignation to AICC President (Rahul Gandhi) owning moral responsibility for the party's poor show in both Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in the state," Patnaik told reporters here.

"While the Congress faced defeat in the state, I too lost at the hustings," the Congress stalwart said.

Admitting that the Congress had failed to win the confidence of the people, Patnaik said "the party needs to take concrete steps to set the organisation in proper shape by getting rid of opportunists and attracting youths into its fold."