Discontent and turbulence is reportedly brewing among the workers and frontline leaders of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Rajnagar Assembly constituency of Kendrapara since the day former Congress legislator Anshuman Mohanty joined the ruling party.
The supporters of Rajnagar MLA Dhruba Charan Sahoo are unable to internally accept the Congress leader in the party while long-serving BJD workers have strongly opposed his merger.
Sources said, in a bid to quell the discontent, the ruling party leaders held a closed-door meeting with dissenting leaders at Dangamala in the presence of MLA Sahoo.
A BJD leader added that many BJD workers and frontline leaders voiced their unhappiness at the meeting arguing that they were neither taken into confidence nor consulted before Mohanty was joined with the party in Bhubaneswar.
However, at the meeting, the dissenting leaders were asked to toe the party line as set by the party’s top leadership, but some of them warned of gheraoing Naveen Niwas to oppose Mohanty’s leadership.
Speaking to media, Maheswar Sethi who attended the closed-door meeting, said, “At the meeting, some BJD workers opposed the leadership of Ashuman Mohanty and even warned gherao of Naveen Niwas. Long-serving BJD leaders are opposing the merger of new Congress leaders in the party,” he added.
He also asserted, ”The fire of discontent is simmering and only time will tell what kind of consequences will emerge in near future.”