Bhubaneswar, September 5 (H.S.): The All India Congress Committee (AICC) has announced the formation of a Political Affairs Committee (PAC) for the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC), with senior party leader Lalji Desai appointed as its chairperson.

The committee has been constituted with the approval of Congress President and will take effect immediately, according to a statement issued by AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal.

The panel comprises several senior Odisha Congress leaders, including Bhakta Charan Das, Ramachandra Kadam, former chief ministers Giridhar Gamang and Niranjan Pattnaik, Jaydev Jena, Sarat Pattanayak, Prasad Harichandan, Saptagiri Shankar Ulaka, Rama Chandra Khuntia, Narasingha Mishra and Srikant Jena.

Other members include Jagannath Pattnaik, Kishore Patel, Amar Nath Pradhan, Suresh Routray, Nagendra Pradhan, Panchanan Kanungo, Sarat Rout, Saraswati Hembram, Ananta Prasad Sethi, Tara Prasad Bahinipati, C S Razeen Ekka and Santosh Singh Saluja.

The committee also includes Debashish Pattnaik, Shibananda Roy, Biswaranjan Mohanty, Sashmita Behera and Sidharth Sworup Dash.

The AICC secretaries in charge of Odisha, along with the presidents of the Pradesh Mahila Congress, Pradesh Youth Congress and NSUI, and the State Seva Dal chief, will serve as ex-officio members of the committee.

The formation of the PAC is aimed at strengthening the Congress's organisational structure and political coordination in Odisha. The broad-based committee brings together senior leaders as well as representatives of the party's various frontal organisations and wings.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Monalisa Panda