BALASORE: The rift in BJD’s Bhograi unit was out in the open after a heated exchange broke out between two senior leaders on stage at a party meeting in Teghari here on Saturday.
The verbal duel between BJD’s district vice-president Tapan Panda and Bhograi block president Ramakanta Karana took place in presence of the party’s Balasore Lok Sabha candidate Lekhasri Samantsinghar and nominee from Bhograi Assembly seat Gautam Buddha Das.
Sources said the local BJD organised a public meeting in zone-35 of Teghari which was attended by hundreds of party workers and locals. A ruckus broke out when Tapan presided over the meeting instead of block president Ramakanta.
In protest, some party workers snatched the microphone from Tapan and tried to stop the meeting. Subsequently, a war of words ensued between Ramakanta and Tapan on the stage. As the heated exchange continued for some minutes, many party workers and locals left the meeting venue.
Later, Ramakanta told mediapersons that as per protocol, the block president should have presided over the meeting. However, the party’s district vice-president forcefully took over the proceedings of the meeting and presided over it. This was opposed by local BJD workers.
Refuting the allegations, Tapan said party workers and local residents left the venue as the meeting started late. BJD’s LS candidate Lekhasri tried to downplay the incident and said it was a petty fight between the two leaders over a trivial matter and should not be taken seriously.
Sources said the reason for the dispute was infighting in BJD’s Bhograi unit over selection of party candidates for both the LS and Assembly seat. If the BJD fails to resolve the differences, the BJP is likely to take advantage of the situation in the upcoming elections.