80 percent of BJD leadership are mentally ready to leave party: BJP

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday dropped a bomb on the political corridors of Bhubaneswar by claiming that at least 80 percent of the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leadership are mentally ready to leave the party.

The claim was made by BJP’s State General Secretary, Prithviraj Harichandan who said that most of the BJD leaders who want to end the 'Ravan Raj' in Odisha are in talks with the BJP.

Harichandan equated BJD’s rule in Odisha with 'Ravan Raj' and the claimed disgruntled BJD leaders with Vibhishan.

Asserting his claims, Harichandan said, “This is true. While only one Vibhishan was required to end Ravana’s empire, there are hundreds of Vibhshans waiting to erupt after getting fed up by the anarchy in the Biju Janata Dal.”

“They will choose the path of ‘Dharma’ and the same will reflect in the coming elections,” Harichandan asserted.

Asked about the claims, the BJD soft-pedaled the issue and countered it by claiming there are some BJP MLAs in talks with the BJD as well.

“Some of our MLAs are speaking with the BJP, and some MLAs of BJP are in contact with us. This is a natural phenomenon which is usually witnessed whenever any election nears,” said BJD MLA and Energy minister Pratap Keshari Deb.