Dissidents Alert: BJP Appoints Three New Vice Presidents

Bhubaneswar: To contain the growing resentment over ticket distribution for the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in Odisha, BJP state president Basanta Panda on Saturday appointed disgruntled senior leader Subash Chauhan, Kandhamal MP Pratyusha Rajeswari Singh, who is a recent entrant to the party, and state spokesperson Pitambar Acharya as vice-presidents.

Pratyusha joined the saffron party on Saturday. While speaking to the media, she expressed her willingness to contest from the Nayagarh Assembly seat. She had resigned from the primary membership of the BJD on March 20 after the party declared Achyuta Samanta as its official candidate for Kandhamal. She had also requested the party chief to consider her name for the Nayagarh Assembly seat but in vain.

On the other hand, Chauhan has been upset with the BJP for ignoring him and nominating Suresh Pujari for the Bargarh Lok Sabha seat, from where he had lost the last election to BJD’s Pravas Singh by just 11.178 votes.

Similarly, Pitambar is an aspirant for a Cuttack Assembly seat and has even started campaigning.

“Their contribution will intensify and strengthen the organisational activities of the party during the elections,” BJP spokesperson and media cell chief Golak Mohapatra informed mediapersons during a press briefing.