BHUBANESWAR : As the BJD grapples with serious internal turmoil, the Congress, sensing an opportunity to fish in the troubled waters, has served an open invitation to the disgruntled leaders to join it.
President of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Bhakta Charan Das on Monday said many leaders of the BJD are already in touch with the party and have had preliminary discussions. There will be a sea change in the political scenario of the state in the coming days, he added.
He also called upon all those who have left the Congress in the past to return and assist in rebuilding the party. “Congress is now the real Opposition in the state as the BJD is hand-in-glove with the BJP. We call upon those who had left the Congress to rejoin and help in rebuilding the party as it is the only genuine force fighting the BJP,” he said.
The call of the OPCC president has come at a time when several senior BJD leaders are openly voicing their discontent on the manner in which their party is being run. Some leaders including former ministers Bhupinder Singh, Sashi Bhusan Behera and others had also held a meeting here recently and discussed their way forward. Several of them were of the opinion that the time has come to look for alternative options, sources said.
Former minister Bhupinder Singh did admit that there is discontentment in the party and senior leaders are not feeling comfortable. “There will be many developments in the near future,” he said, however refusing to elaborate on the matter.