Since he landed in the alleged sex scandal and the controversy surrounding him in the reported murder of engineering student Asutosh Mohanty alias Rishi came to the fore, BMC Mayor Anant Narayan Jena has virtually become an isolated figure in the BJD in general and for the three Bhubaneswar MlAs, including a Minister, in particular.
Though Jena is hitting the streets along with his close supporters decrying the allegations levelled against him, he hardly gets any physical support from the three Bhubaneswar MlAs, Bijay Mohanty, Priyadarshi Mishra and Minister Ashok Panda.
Though Priyadarshi Mishra accompanied the Mayor to the Capital police station to file an FIR against Niakhunta.com proprietor Pradeep Pandey and Student Congress president Itish Pradhan on Thursday night, he later reportedly changed his mind. And since then, he was not seen with Jena.
What supports the speculations of Jena’s isolation in the BJD was the absence of the MlAs at the Press conference convened by him on Saturday. A group of BMC corporators and a handful of Jena’s other supporters along with local MP Prasanna Patsani and Rajya Sabha member AV Swamy were present at the Press meet.