R Udaygiri: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Congress are making all-out efforts to get their nominees elected as block chairperson of R Udaygiri in Gajapati district, though the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seems to be lagging behind, a report said.
Both the parties are claiming to have required number of samiti members to elect the block chairperson. There are 17 samiti members elected from 17 panchayats under the block.
A party can grab the chairperson’s post if it manages to garner support of nine samiti members. The BJD has reportedly kept its 11 samiti members in an undisclosed location.
Frontline leaders and workers of the both the parties are now trying to poach samiti members from each other’s side. The Congress has also kept some of its samiti members in an unknown place till the election.
In 2017 panchayat elections, the block chairman post was reserved for ST women. This time, the post has been reserved for ST men.
PNN