Bhubaneswar: Differences among leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) appear to be growing in Nimapada Assembly segment in Odisha’s Puri district.
Political tussle between Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida and senior BJP leader and former minister Sameer Ranjan Das has come to the fore in Nimapada, with both entering into an open confrontation.
The bitterness has been deepening since the 2024 Assembly and Lok Sabha elections with both leaders trading charges.
Das, who had quit BJD and joined BJP, had supported Pravati Parida in the Assembly polls. He has now raised questions about her political credibility and performance. Parida, on her part, has hit back, raising past issues to lash out at Das.
The feud intensified over the issue of grievance redressal after Das started holding public hearings in Nimapada every Wednesday and Saturday. He has projected the initiative as part of efforts to strengthen the BJP organisation. However, Parida has objected to it and termed the move by Das a ‘parallel grievance mechanism’. She stressed that the government already has an official system in place.
At a recent a public meeting in Nimapada, Parida accused Das of doing little for the constituency for 24 years and alleged that his current outreach was aimed at gaining sympathy through ‘crocodile tears’.
Reacting sharply, Das said that people were approaching him because their problems were not being addressed by the Deputy CM. Claiming that he played a key role in securing nearly 50,000 votes for the party’s victory, he asserted that his grievance hearings reflected growing public dissatisfaction.
The stand-off has triggered a show of strength within the constituency, with parallel organisational activities underway. The actions of Das have drawn disciplinary attention, with the BJP issuing him two notices so far. Puri district BJP president Devendra Tarai has warned of strict action if he fails to fall in line.
However, supporters of Das have dismissed the warning and said the allegations against the ex-minister are ridiculous. Public leaders will have to listen to the problems of the people and solve them, they said.
With panchayat elections scheduled next year, Sameer has begun mobilising support to demonstrate his influence, while Pravati Parida has launched a counter-offensive after maintaining silence for months. The developments have added a new dimension to BJP politics in Nimapada, with attention now focused on how the state leadership will respond to the growing internal discord.
Meanwhile, opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has claimed that all is not well in the BJP and the seem to have started from Nimapada.
BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty said in a post on X that rhe common people of Nimapada are nostalgic and say that the BJP has neglected the area, and that whatever development took place was only during the tenure of BJD. People in Nimapada and other parts of Odisha are determined to teach the BJP a good lesson, he said.
