Promising a corruption-free political front, about a dozen small regional parties and outfits on Sunday floated the Odisha Jan Sammukhya (OJS) with an aim to jointly contest the next elections. The ‘manch’ said it will soon announce its chief ministerial candidate for the 2014 Assembly elections. Leaders of RJD, LJP, Samruddha Odisha, RPI (Republican Party of India), Odisha Communist Party, Paschim Odisha Vikas Party, Utkal Samaj, Mitra Shakti and some other outfits met here and announced the formation of the front.
Denying any link with suspended BJD leader and Rajya Sabha member Pyarimohan Mohapatra, the leaders of the front said the OJS would field candidates in the next elections. While Odisha Communist Party chief Ajay Rout was made president of OJS, Samruddha Odisha chief Jatish Mohanty became its convener and Seikh Abdul Ali of RPI the coordinator. The formation of a new front triggered speculations in political circles here as it came amidst reports about supporters of Mohapatra, once the main strategist of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, floating a new outfit.
The leaders of the OJS maintained that the front is in touch with several ‘like-minded’ political parties. Alleging that the Naveen Patnaik Government has allowed large-scale loot of mineral resources from the State, Rout said the BJD chief is taking the people for a ride by talking about transparency.