laxman Meher of the Congress won the president post of the Balangir District Central Cooperative Bank (BDCCB) by defeating the BJD’s Tapaswani Meher by a single vote in an election held on Friday. A total of 15 board members participated in the election. The BJD candidate was expected to win the post as it had nine members and Congress six. But surprisingly, Congress’ laxman won the post grabbing eight votes while BJD got six.
While laxman’s win indicates that at least two BJD members cross-voted in favour of Congress, political observers see it as a major setback for BJD camp here. Despite repeated efforts, BJD Rajya Sabha member AU Singh Deo could not be contacted for comment. “I will work for betterment of the farmers and the weavers of undivided Balangir district,” said laxman Meher after results. He thanked leader of Opposition in the Assembly Narsingha Mishra for his support.