BJD leaders Umakant Samantaray, Sanjay Dasburma bury hatchet?

Former MLA of Brahmagiri Sanjay Dasburma and Satyabadi MLA Umakant Samantaray, known to be antagonistic to each other, have reportedly patched up a compromise with the intervention of top leaders of the BJD.

A key meeting of the sarpanchs and zilla parishad members from Brahmagiri and Satyabadi was held at the Sankha Bhawan in Bhubaneswar in the presence of the party’s organizational secretary, Pranab Prakash Das. 

This development came amid discussions that the ruling party may swap the turfs of both leaders in the upcoming elections.

After the meeting, Sanjay Dasburma told the media, "Party’s organisational secretary Pranab Prakash Das and Satyabadi MLA Umakant Samantaray were present at the meeting. There was an elaborate discussion on how to consolidate the party organisation in Brahmagiri and Sakhigopal.”

Bhimsen Paikaray, a Zilla parishad member from Kanasa said, "If the party wants to field Umakant Samantaray in Bramhagiri and Sanjay Dasbumra in Satyabadi, and if it is the decision of party supremo Naveen Patnaik, our party workers in Kanasa and Satyabadi will support them.”

Earlier in the day, both leaders were reportedly seen together in another meeting held in a hotel in Puri. BJD leader Arup Patnaik, who is likely to be fielded by the party from the Puri Lok Sabha constituency, was present in the meeting.