Factionalism In BJD’s Bhubaneswar Unit Intensifies Despite Naveen’s Unity Moves

Bhubaneswar: BJD president Naveen Patnaik’s efforts to strengthen the party organisation after its debacle in the twin elections in Odisha notwithstanding, bickering among leaders of its Bhubaneswar unit seems to have intensified.

The differences among prominent leaders of BJD came 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 on Sunday during a meeting convened by the party president at its headquarters, Sankha Bhavan in Bhubaneswar, to analyse the factors responsible for BJD’s poor performance in the dual polls.

A group of BJD workers, led by corporators Biranchi Naryan Mahasupakar and Amaresh Jena, targeted former minister Ashok Panda and accused the latter 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 for allegedly 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.

To further worsen the matter, the rivalry between the two groups came out in the open when Mahasupakar’s supporter Avinash Patra filed a complaint at Airfield police station alleging that Panda and Rakesh Patra, a local BJD leader, had threatened to eliminate him.