The rifts between supporters and rivals of election ticket aspirants are at an all-time high, often leading to clashes.
Tension prevailed outside BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik’s residence Naveen Niwas on Tuesday after a faceoff between the supporters of two Assembly ticket aspirants from the Niali Assembly constituency.
While the supporters of sitting Niali BJD MLA Dr Pramod Kumar Mallick rooted for the party ticket again for him, the followers of Mallick’s rival Trupti Ranjan Behera vied for Behera’s nomination replacing Mallick, against whom they levelled corruption charges.
As word spread that Mallick was the favourite for the ticket, it resulted in a scuffle between the two groups on the road in front of the Naveen Niwas. Besides, supporters of Behera staged a demonstration and squatted on the road disrupting vehicular movement for some time.
Police and security officials intervened and dispersed the warring groups before the situation could deteriorate further in the high-security area.