The BJD many not be able get the Chairman post of the 15-member Ganjam Panchayat Samiti as two of its 10 supporting members have reportedly defected to the BJP camp and whereabouts of one remains untraceable.
While the BJP has got three supporting candidates elected, the CPI and the CPM have won one each. Interestingly, the two left party-supported candidates have inclined to the BJP now, notwithstanding their national ideological stand.
While one of the BJD-supported PS Members remains untraceable now, the BJD and the BJP camps have seven PS Members each now, creating a confusion as to which group would form the Ganjam block PS.
Both the CPI and CPM-supported candidates are reportedly supporting the BJP to prevent the BJD-supporting candidates from forming the Panchayat Samiti. Meanwhile, some political observers attributed such defection to lucrative offers.
According to sources, all the seven in the BJP camp are holidaying at a luxurious resort at the neighboring city of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh while BJD’s remaining seven are on a tour at Paradip and the whereabouts of the rest PS Member remains elusive.
But the ruling party is all set to get a leader elected as Chhatrpur block Chairman as 14 out of 17 elected Panchayat Samiti Members are its supporters.