The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) received a shot in the arm ahead of the Kandhamal lok Sabha bypoll when Kui Samaj Samannwaya Samiti leader lambodhar Kanhar joined the party at its State headquarters here on Monday. About 200 members of the Congress and BJD also joined the party along with Kanhar, BJP sources said.
Kanhar is the secretary of the coordination committee of the Kui Samaj, a powerful tribal organisation in Kandhamal district that has a large support base in the communally volatile district and has the potential to influence the outcome of the bypoll on October 15 significantly.
Kanhar had been arrested by police in October 2012 for allegedly beating up and injuring at least 30 candidates, who had come to the district headquarters town of Phulbani for certificate verification for recruitment as Shiksha Sahayaks.
Kanhar and his associates had driven away the job-seekers hailing from outside Kandhamal while demanding that the posts be reserved only for the candidates from the district. He was supported by the Pana dalits and Kandha tribals, who are rivals of each other, for his stand that Classes III and IV Government posts should be reserved for local candidates.
