Naba Das, Krushna Sagaria To Join BJD!

The close proximity between Jharsuguda MLA Naba Das and the BJD, especially party president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has put the Congress leadership in tenterhooks.Dad showering praises on the Chief Minister during inauguration of Sambalpur-Rourkela Biju Expressway at Jharsuguda on March 12 this year had sent shock waves in the district Congress. Though Das had parried a question on whether he has plans to join the BJD, he had said that he would never hesitate to praise anyone who will work for the development of his district.

The apprehension, which was put to rest after the appointment of Das as the working president of the restructured Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC), cropped up again during the visit of the Chief Minister and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Jharsuguda during the inauguration of Veer Surendra Sai airport on September 22. Das and his family members had a photo session with the Chief Minister at the airport lounge. The photo posted on the social media has gone viral.

Even the senior BJD leaders of Jharsuguda districts are left awestruck at the smart response of the party’s top brass to any developmental works sought by Das.

Besides Das, another Congress leader Koraput MLA Krushna Chandra Sagaria has also decided to quit the party. Though he has not made his decision clear, sources close to him said that the Congress MLA will make an announcement to this effect in a couple of days.

The former chairperson of the OPCC Scheduled Caste Cell, Sagaria was appointed as the OPCC general secretary by the Congress president Rahul Gandhi yesterday. He was instrumental in spearheading the agitation on the sensational Kunduli minor gang rape case and taking it to the national level.

According to available information, Sagaria has decided to quit the party due to his protracted rivalry with the Jeypore MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati and the attitude of the OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik.

Reliable sources said that the OPCC president has the soft corner towards Bahinipati as the latter had taken his side and rebelled against the former OPCC president Prasad Harichandan.