Kanan Bihari Pahi, who recently joined the BJD, was declared elected uncontested as president of the Kendujhar Central Cooperative Bank. He assumed office for a second term and his followers and bank staff greeted him at his office expecting better performance in this term due to his previous experience in running the bank.
Fifteen board members backed by the BJD had already been elected to the governing body in the election held on April 19. The candidature of Pahi was in doubt since Debapriya Patra, son of Minister Badri Narayan Patra, had won the Zone-3 seat as a board member. But at the last moment, the party high command chose Pahi as the candidate for the president. "I am obliged to our Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and our leader (Minister) BN Patra and I will do my best to uphold the dignity of our leaders and common people," Pahi told the media after assuming office.
