Bhubaneswar: Expelled BJD leader Damador Rout Friday hinted at the possibility of loyalists of former Chief Minister Biju Patnaik ousted from the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) coming together to form a new regional party ahead of the 2019 elections.
Assembly elections in Odisha are also due along with Lok Sabha polls in 2019.
Rout, who was Wednesday expelled from the BJD, said people loyal to Biju Patnaik may form the new political outfit as they have been ousted from the BJD headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
“Senior leaders like Bijay Mohapatra, Dilip Ray, Jairam Pangi (now in BJP), Prafulla Ghadai, Baijayant Panda, Panchanan Kanungo and Samata Kranti Dal leader and former Union Minister Brajakishore Tripathy may come forward to set up another regional party in Odisha,” Rout told reporters here.
He alleged that the BJD was being run by one officer and three young MLAs and Naveen Patnaik during his 18-year rule has sacked or annoyed 40 senior leaders. “If these people come together and form a party, I will be with them and propagate the Biju ideology,” Rout said. Continued on P5