In what could be termed as the height of political opportunism, a Sarpanch in Balasore district jumped party three times, effectively making ‘ghar-wapsi’ twice in five days.
The Sarpanch we are discussing here is Deba Kumar Dey from Srirampur Panchayat under Balasore’s Baliapal block.
Dey, a senior Congress leader, had joined the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) along with his supporters on December 28, 2023. Minister Pratap Keshari Deb and Rajya Sabha MP Manas Ranjan Mangaraj welcomed Dey to the party at the joining meeting held at Shankha Bhavan in Bhubaneswar.
After joining BJD, Dey had said “I have been in the Congress for a long time. But I am now disgusted with the working style of the Congress for a few years for which I had to quit the party."
However, he could stay in BJD for only three days. Dey made his first ‘ghar-wapsi’ just three days later and joined Congress on December 31, 2023.
While returning to Congress, Dey said he had gone to BJD to work for people but missed Congress’ communal harmony. So he returned back to his old party.
“I had joined BJD because I wanted to be a part of the government’s developmental works for the people. But after returning to Baliapal from Bhubaneswar, I felt that the Congress members actually wanted me back. Then I made up my mind and decided to return to my former party. I will never leave it and never change my party till my last breath,” Dey had said on December 31 while returning to Congress.
But, Dey’s mind changed again and he jumped to BJD once again just a day after, on January 1, 2024.
Interestingly, the BJD welcomed him with open arms again making his second ‘ghar-wapsi’ in just five days of time, a grand ceremony.
Dey, a renowned Congress leader, is the president of Sarpanch Sangh in Baliapal. He is also the Director of Balasore-Bhadrak Cooperative Bank. He has been in the news for criticising BJD many times in the past.