KENDRAPARA: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has landed in a tricky situation in Kendrapara Assembly seat after many aspiring candidates and their supporters raised a banner of revolt on Tuesday against the decision to induct senior Congress leader and former minister Ganeswar Behera into the party.
A large number of BJD leaders and workers organised protest meetings at Gangapada, Jajang, Bharatpur, Indupur and other places urging BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik not to nominate Ganeswar as the party candidate from Kendrapara.
Local BJD worker Bikram Rout said murmurs of discontent are growing within the BJD over the induction of 64-year-old Ganeswar Behera. A few months back, he was criticising the chief minister but now, has joined BJD for the sake of power. “We urge the chief minister not to give him BJD ticket to fight the upcoming election from Kendrapara Assembly seat.”
BJD leader and former Kendrapara MLA Kishor Tarei said many party workers are unhappy with the inclusion of Ganeswar in the BJD. Similarly, another former MLA of Kendrapara Sipra Behera said loyal BJD workers feel left-out and sidelined after the ruling party inducted Ganeswar.
Sources said apart from Kishor and Sipra, sitting Kendrapara MLA Sashibhusan Behera and youth BJD leader Manas Sethi are eying for the BJD ticket from Kendrapara. However, their political future is at stake after Ganeswar joined BJD as the former Congress leader is seeking to contest from Kendrapara, a seat reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC).
On the other hand, a section of BJD leaders expressed happiness over Ganeswar’s entry in BJD. Local BJD leader Bijay Prusti said Ganeswar is a senior leader and a good orator. “BJD roped in Ganeswar with an aim to win the Kendrapara seat easily. Some BJD leaders are opposing him with an ulterior motive,” he alleged.
In the 2019 election, former minister and BJD candidate Shashi had won Kendrapara Assembly seat by defeating Ganeswar by a margin of 6,320 votes.