Bhubaneswar: Stung by intense infighting and groupism, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Monday issued show cause notices to four leaders, including two corporators of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC).
Sources said that BMC corporators Amaresh Jena & Biranchi Narayan Mahasupakar, and Biju Chhatra Janata Dal state secretry Bikek Swain & Biju Yuva Janata Dal (BYJD) president, Ekamra Bhubaneswr, Rajesh Patra have been issued show separate cause notices.
It has come to the knowledge of the party president that these leaders are in indiscipline activities inside the party, said the notice issued by BJD’s Bhubaneswar district unit president Sushant Rout.
These leaders have been asked to reply within 15 days explaining as to why disciplinary action should not be taken against them.
Infighting in BJD appeared to have intensified further as around 30 party corporators opposing their colleagues Amaresh Jena and Biranchi Narayan Mahasupakar reportedly left for Puri to pay obeisance at Lokanath temple in the pilgrim town.
Notably, the show cause notices were issued in the wake of intense rivalry among leaders of the BJD, particularly in its Bhubaneswar unit.
The differences among senior leaders of BJD had come to fore even before the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections earlier this year. Different pressure groups owing allegiance to senior leaders resorted to hectic lobbying for their respective candidates for party tickets at the time, causing major headache to the party leadership.
The internal strife did affect the party’s performance in the elections, exposing its weaknesses and diluting its perceived invincibility.
It further intensified during a meeting convened by the party president at its headquarters a week ago at Sankha Bhavan in Bhubaneswar to analyse the reasons behind BJD’s dismal show in the simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
A group of BJD workers, led by corporators Biranchi Naryan Mahasupakar and Amaresh Jena, targeted former minister Ashok Chandra Panda and accused him of having worked against the interests of the party. They even demanded disciplinary action by the party president against Panda, who lost the Ekamra-Bhubaneswar assembly polls to BJP’s Babu Singh. The BJD also lost the Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha polls but won from the Bhubaneswar North and Central Bhubaneswar assembly seats.
Earlier, Amaresh had accused a BJD corporator of Bhubaneswar of attempting to create factionalism. A photograph of Amaresh, Biranchi Mahasupakar and Sangram Paikray holding a meeting with BJP MLA Babu Singh had added masala to the goings on, triggering speculation about the source of the leak. This exposed the intense Intra-party rival within the regional party.
