BJD welcomes Congress Deserters

In the wake of the planned merger of the Orissa Gana Parishad (OGP) and the state unit of the JD(S) with the NCP, the Naveen Patnaik lashed out at the later, saying it has no future in Orissa. In a state like Orissa, such parties with lack of vision won't be able to reach the people, he said. In a bid to woo the rival camp, the Chief Minister welcomes several leaders and workers of OGP, JD(S) and Congress to his party.

According to BJD sources, a total of 374 leaders and workers from other political parties have joined BJD and many more would follow suit soon. The leaders who joined BJD included ex-MLA from Subratpur, Debraj Seth, ex-JD(S) general secretary Jugal Nayak and youth leader Amiya Pandab. The rival camp headed by Biay Mohapatra and Ashok Das rubbished the BJD claim and asserted that NCP would become a strong force to reckon with in Orissa.