'BJD Infighting' Comes To Fore In Puri, Minister Refutes, Says Will Not Affect 

A rift between two factions of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) workers came to fore in Gop block of Puri district on Sunday.

Some workers of the party claiming discontent over selection of candidates for the forthcoming Panchayat elections reportedly detained local MLA and Minister of School and Mass Education, Samir Dash to express their angst.

As per sources, a tension had been brewing between two factions of the BJD in Nagpur panchayat in Gop area over separate nominations of two party-backed candidates each for the elections to the post of Samiti member and Sarpanch for the past few days.

The disagreement burst out of control when Minister Samir Dash visited Nagpur to inaugurate the party office of one of the groups.

Incensed over the development, rival group launched an attack on the newly-inaugurated office of the other faction soon after the departure of the minister from the programme.

The rival group members were seen vandalising the furniture and tearing apart flex and posters from the camp office. The matter came to limelight after a video of the incident went viral on social media.

When contacted, Minister Dash however refuted the allegations of infighting within the BJD unit of the area and said any disagreement if it were present, would have no impact on the party.