Bhubaneswar: Internal squabbling in Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Odisha’s main opposition party, has once again surfaced. Senior BJD leader and former Minister Sanjay Das Burma was targeted on Monday night over talks about non-inclusion of Amaresh Jena, Corporator of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), in the party’s state council. Amaresh Jena subsequently made an explosive statement, alleging that BJD is now in the hands of a few conspirators. As the process of organisational revamp is underway in BJD, there is an atmosphere of distrust and dissatisfaction within the regional party due to the conspiracy to clip the wings of some senior leaders. The question now is how BJD president Naveen Patnaik will manage to overcome the crisis.
5 leaders will sink BJD !
Alleging that BJD is not being managed properly,m Amaresh Jena claimed that 4-5 people who have been given responsibility are not working in an impartial manner. Jena said that the party is being run by people who had earlier conspired to oust the previous BJD government. The party is now controlled by these conspirators. Those who were close to Pari Mohan Mohapatra are now close to Naveen Patnaik and they will sink the party, said Jena. Similarly, Biranchi Mahasupakar has also opened his mouth alleging negligence in the party. Claiming that the defeated leaders are afraid of the young leadership, he said young leadership is not growing in BJD.
Conspiracy to clip wings of senior leaders!
While reported internal conflicts in BJD is being discussed in political circles in the state, it is said that the leaders who spoke out against V K Pandian are now being targeted. Some party leaders gave statements against Pandian over the Waqf vote in Rajya Sabha. It is said that some of them are being sidelined in a planned manner. It is said that some leaders have not even been invited to the BJD state council meeting. It is feared that a large-scale uprising will be triggered by the removal of senior party leaders from organisational responsibilities.
Will seven senior leaders be trapped?
Senior leaders Debi Prasad Mishra, Arun Sahoo, Pratap Keshari Deb, Sanjay Das Burma, Pratap Jena, Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak and Pranab Prakash Das are frequently holding meetings regarding organisational matters of the BJD. However, it is not clear how much their decisions and suggestions are being accepted. These seven leaders are now in a dilemma as there is dissatisfaction in the party over the organisational elections. On Monday, they met party president Naveen Patnaik and reportedly stressed that senior leaders should not be ignored. However, Naveen has not given them a clear promise. Observers wonder whether suggestions of these seven leaders are accepted or some external force is manipulating things behind the scenes by putting them in the front. This apart, many leaders in the party are not ready to accept the active role now being played by Pranab Prakash Das.
Naveen Patnaik has become the president of BJD for the ninth time, but there is a delay in announcing the names of the state executive members. There is talk that an influential group of BJD is trying to keep a majority of the members they support out of the 81 members. Meanwhile, for the first time in two decades, BJD has not been able to elect all district presidents simultaneously. Even now, 15 district presidents are yet to be elected. While the alleged rebellion within BJD seems to be slipping out of control, there is talk that an undeclared power center of BJD is running the show from behind the scenes.
