There are 21 members in the election committee (Fle)
Ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha and state assembly polls, Congress president Rahul Gandhi has reconstituted the party's Odisha unit and appointed 14 vice-presidents and 24 general secretaries, besides other functionaries, the party said on Wednesday.
There are 13 special invitees to the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) comprising six former state party chiefs, a statement issued by All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Ashok Gehlot said.
There are 21 members in the election committee, including state Congress chief Niranjan Patnaik, while the AICC secretaries and the heads of the frontal organisations of the party such as the Mahila Congress, the Seva Dal, the Youth Congress, the National Students' Union of India (NSUI), the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) are permanent invitees to the panel.
The Congress has been out of power in Odisha for 18 years now. The state is being ruled by the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), which is in power since 2000.
The Lok Sabha and the Assembly polls are expected to be held simultaneously in the state next year.