There is leadership crisis in Odisha BJP: Shishir Gamang

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Giridhar Gamang’s son Shishir Gamang on Tuesday dealt a blow to the party by saying there is a leadership crisis in the State unit. The central BJP isn’t finding anyone in the State BJP capable enough to lead the party in the State.

Junior Gamang said this in his reaction after meeting Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. 

“We (he and his father) have not resigned from the BJP as yet. We are still in the party. Two senior BJP leaders met Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and had lunch with him. It was not an issue. But it is an issue when we met one of our old family friends and had lunch with him,” said Gamang. 

Referring to a Salman Khan’s song (Main Karun To Sala Character Dheela Hai), Gamang said, “The same thing was not an issue in their case but it became a problem in our case.”

“There is definitely a leadership crisis in the State BJP. The Central BJP has been unable to find anyone in the State unit capable enough to lead from the front. And none of the State BJP leaders has the courage to come forward and throw down the gauntlet to Naveen Patnaik. And the third thing is that, even if someone is coming forward to lead the party, either may not have party acceptance or public acceptance,” added Gamang. 

When asked if the Telangana model will work in Odisha, Gamang’s prompt reply was ‘yes’.  

“If the Gujarat model is working successfully in the nation, why Telangana model won’t work in Odisha?” asked Gamang. 

He further said that not only his father but several leaders of the ilk of Jayaram Pangi are also in constant touch with the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). 

Two days ago, Giridhar Gamang and his son Shishir Gamang had met the Telangana Chief Minister and BRS supremo  K Chandrasekhar Rao. What added more fuel to the fire of speculation was former Koraput MP Jayaram Pangi’s meeting with the Telangana CM yesterday. 

In the political arena, words are doing the rounds that these top leaders of South Odisha are likely to join the BRS. 

In this regard, the BJP’s reaction is yet to be obtained.

(Reported by Soumya Ranjan Sahu, OTV)