2 min readBhubaneswarApr 15, 2026 10:20 PM IST
Expelled Congress leader Mohammed Moquim Wednesday launched a new political party — Odisha Janata Congress — at a large public gathering, with his daughter and suspended Congress MLA Sofia Firdous among hundreds in attendance.
The new outfit, which focuses on youth leadership and Gen-Z, is eyeing the forthcoming panchayat and urban local body polls scheduled early next year.
Though no prominent leaders joined at launch, Moquim said many from Congress and BJD would come on board.
“The new generations will play a key role in a prosperous Odisha. I appeal to youths who haven’t got a political chance but committed to serve the people to join our organisation,” said Moquim.
Moquim targeted his erstwhile party, Congress, calling it a repeatedly failing outfit and ridiculing it for cozying up with the BJD, which he said had also failed.
He also attacked the BJP dispensation, saying the previous regime (BJD) and the current one (BJP) are two sides of the same coin. “The people of Odisha change the regime but there has been no change in the work culture,” said Moquim.
Moquim, 60, a former MLA from the Cuttack-Barabati Assembly segment, was expelled from Congress in December last year, days after he flagged a leadership crisis in the party and called for deep structural, organisational and ideological renewal. He had also suggested Priyanka Gandhi take up a leadership role.
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The senior leader could not contest the 2024 election following his conviction in a corruption case. The party fielded his daughter, Sofia Firdous, from Cuttack-Barabati, where she won by a sizable margin, aided by Moquim’s personal support base.
Sofia was recently suspended from Congress after cross-voting against the party line in the Rajya Sabha polls. On attending the launch of her father’s party, she said she was present as an “invited guest.”
While the impact of the new outfit on Odisha’s political landscape remains to be seen, most regional parties floated in the state by once-powerful leaders after 2000 have failed to take off. These include Odisha Gana Parishad (Bijoy Mohapatra), Utkal Bharat (Kharabela Swain), Samata Kranti Dal (Braja Kishore Tripathy), Odisha Jana Morcha (Pyari Mohan Mohapatra) and Aama Odisha Party (Soumya Ranjan Patnaik).
