Bhubaneswar: As chorus lauded for Rahul Gandhi to take over as the AICC president, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) also supported the Congress scion for the top post.

OPCC president Sarat Pattnaik on Tuesday said that most of the party leaders in the State are in favour of Gandhi to become the party president.

Describing Rahul Gandhi as a ‘dynamic leader’, Pattnaiak said Gandhi is popular among poor and accepted by all sections.

“We in Odisha strongly demand Rahul Gandhi to take over the party as he is the best leader for the top post,” Pattnaiak said.

“I have been pressing for Rahul Gandhi’s leadership for the last two months. On behalf of the OPCC and all leaders of Odisha, I request him to take charge as the Congress president,” he told reporters.

To a question on reports that other leaders are preparing to file nomination papers for the election for the AICC president’s post, Pattnaiak said, “There is a provision of nomination as well as withdrawal.”

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and party MP Shashi Tharoor are the probable candidates for the Congress president elections.

The nomination process for the Congress president’s election will begin on September 24. The election will be held on October 17, if necessary.

He asserted that Rahul Gandhi has been receiving unprecedented support from people during the party’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’.