The ruling Biju Janata Dal on Wednesday escaped a vertical split bid as the “dissidents” led by the party’s Rajya Sabha member Pyarimohan Mohapatra shelved their plan to stage a “possible coup” for the time being.
Sources said the dissidents, who on Tuesday had held two separate meetings — one at the Sahid Nagar residence of Mr Mohapatra and the second in a star hotel to finalise the split process — desisted from their bid as they failed to garner the required number.
The BJD has 104 legislators in the 147-member state Assembly. The dissident camp had also calculated to get support of some Congress, NCP and BJP legislators.
Of the 33 MLAs and three ministers, who on Tuesday evening pledged support to Mr Mohapatra, changed their allegiance on Wednesday. Some of them showed up at Naveen Niwas, the CM’s residence, to escape disciplinary action, thus upsetting the dissident camp’s plan. Over 40 MLAs, five MPs and half-a-dozen ministers gathered at Naveen Niwas expressing their solidarity with the CM.
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik, meanwhile, cut short his nine-day trip to foreign countries and is returning to Bhubaneswar to handle the crisis.
In another development, Mr Mohapatra, while addressing a press conference at the Swosti Premium Hotel here, said he had not planned to split the party. He, however, admitted that Mr Patnaik had come under the “evil” influence of a “group of conspirators” in the party forum. “The party chief has come under the evil influence of a group of conspirators who want to finish the party. I just wanted tell these conspirators they cannot kill the party for their vested interests,” he said. Denying any “threat” perception from his side to the chief minister, Mr Mohapatra clarified that the Tuesday’s meeting of legislators at his residence should not be construed as a revolt against the leadership.
Meanwhile in Delhi, the Congress described dissidence in the BJD as an “internal matter” of that party. “The Congress has nothing to do with it. It is an internal matter of the BJD,” party spokesman Rashid Alvi told reporters.