Bhubaneswar: Biju Janta Dal (BJD) president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Saturday showed the exit door to the party’s former Barpali block president and former Bargarh Zilla Parishad member Dhiraj Pradhan for allegedly indulging in anti-party activities.
The BJD supremo’s move comes ahead of the Biyepur by-election and a fortnight after he expelled a few local leaders of the party from the constituency.
The expelled leaders include BJD’s former Bijepur block president Radheshyam Mohapatra, who had tendered resignation from the post December 4 alleging negligence and disregard towards old party workers, and four others – Lalit Padhi and Ramchandani Meher from Laumunda block and Madhu Khamari and Gourahari Seth from Bijepur.
With date for Bijepur by-poll – being viewed as a litmus test for BJD, BJP and Congress –politics over the battle of ballot is taking new twists and turns every now and then, especially within the ruling dispensation.
After Rita Sahu, spouse of late MLA of Bijepur Subal Sahu, joined the BJD camp the intra-party political rivalries have become more intense.
Earlier, BJD leader Ashok Panigrahi had switched sides and joined BJP, while former Bargarh district president Narayan Sahu joined BJD relinquishing his post in the saffron party.
PNN