Biju Yuva Janata Dal (BYJD) State secretary lakshman Kumar Choudhury has resigned from the BJD along with his supporters Ritu Kumar Panda, Babula Sethi and litu Acharya being dissatisfied over the manner in which the party has selected Puspanjali Padhi to contest for the post of Corporator from Ward-26 in the by-election to the Brahmapur Municipal Corporation (BMC) to be held next month.
lakshman Choudhury is a former president of the Khallikote College Students’ Union. In his letter of resignation sent to BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday, Choudhury alleged that senior leaders of the party are being sidelined and newcomers being given importance.
The party candidate who contested and lost the election in the last election in 2013 was deliberately being prevented from getting party ticket and alternatively his wife was not given party ticket, he alleged.
Similarly, a candidate who changed his old party and joined the BJD was made candidate for the post of President of the Cooperative Urban Bank in the last election against the will of old party workers, Choudhury said. With Choudhury’s resignation, a cold war between BJD old and new guards here is likely to take an ugly turn in the days ahead, feel political observers.
The filing of nomination by Choudhury’s wife Alakabindu Choudhury as an independent candidate has put the BJD nominee in a fix. The Ward-26 is one of the most sensitive wards under the BMC as it falls under the geographical ambience of Gosaninuagaon, to which a galaxy of top readers including former Union Minister and Congress leader Chandra Sekhar Sahu, BJD leader Alekh Choudhury, BJP youth leader and former BMC Mayor Shiva Shankar Das belong.
In the 2013 BMC elections, three women candidates of three major parties, Chinmayee Padhi (Congress) (1,653), Rajani Maharana (BJP) (690) and lakshmi Kumari Patra (BJD) (695) had contested. Chinmayee Padhi won the election by a margin of 958 votes. The seat later fell vacant due to the Congress Corporator’s death.
For the by-poll, BJD candidate Puspanjali Padhi filed her nomination on Wednesday. The BJP has given party ticket to advocate and social worker Dr Namitarani Panda, who filed her nomination on Thursday. The Congress has fielded Smitanjali Sabat, who also filed her nomination on Thursday.