Bhubaneswar: Despite efforts by Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president Naveen Patnaik to keep the flocks together after the poll debacle in Odisha, intense infighting and groupism in the regional party appeared to have surfaces in last few days.
Amid sharp differences among senior BJD leaders on various issues, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claimed on Wednesday that factionalism in the regional party is likely to assume explosive proportions in next couple of months.
Claiming that there will be a major ‘explosion’ in the BJD soon, BJP MP Sukanta Panigrahi said that several senior leaders, including MLAs and ex-legislators, are set to quit the regional party in the next three months. These leaders will be joining the BJP as they are disillusioned with the BJD, he claimed
“There will be a big explosion in BJD in next three months. Several BJD MLAs, former MLAs and senior leaders will quit the regional party and join the BJP,” Panigrahi told media.
Many senior leaders of the BJD, including Rajya Sabha members, have been in contact with the BJP, he claimed, adding that leaders with clean image and good track record will be inducted into the saffron party.
Stressing that the BJP government in Odisha is sincerely working for the development of the state and welfare of all sections of people, Panigrahi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also giving special attention to the state. Therefore, many leaders are being attracted towards BJP and are keen to be part of the development process, the BJP leader said.
Refuting the claims made by Panigrahi, senior BJD leader Debi Prasad Mishra said several BJP leaders are also in contact with the regional party. BJD continues to work for the development of Odisha despite being the main opposition party, he said.
Panigrahi’s statement assumes significance as it came amidst intense rivalry among leaders of the BJD, particularly in its Bhubaneswar unit.
The differences among senior leaders of BJD had come 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 reasons behind BJD’s dismal show in the simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
A group of BJD workers, led by corporators Biranchi Naryan Mahasupakar and Amaresh Jena, targeted former minister Ashok Chandra Panda and accused him 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 of 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.
Making things worse, 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.
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