Two notable political developments took place at BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s residence here on Monday.
The first and, more important, one was a meeting of Congress State general secretary and spokesperson Sulochana Das with Pathaik. later, she announced her resignation from the party and is now set to join the BJD soon.
The move of Sulochana Das, who has been ably defending the Congress in public domain since long, would further weaken the grand old party in the State. In the ongoing defection drama in the State, the Congress is the worst sufferer. However, PCC president Prasad Harichandan said Das’ quitting the Congress would have no adverse impact on the party.
The second development was former Minister Raghunath Mohanty’s meeting with Patnaik. “It was just a courtesy call. I am a disciplined worker of the party. I will continue to work as per the direction of the CM,” Mohanty said. The former Basta MlA was suspended from the post of BJD vice-president after he was arrested in the case of alleged torture to his daughter-in-law Barsa Swony in 2013. A five-time MlA, Mohanty was also denied party ticket during the 2014 Assembly elections. Mohanty is likely to be brought back to the party and given an important responsibility. He is stated to be rehabilitated in the BJD following Patnaik’s recently-announced move to bring back old Janata family members who have been removed from the BJD or left it otherwise on a case-to-case consideration basis.