June 8th 2024.
Over the weekend, a source revealed that there was some unrest among the youth leaders and party workers of BJD, led by Naveen Patnaik, in the city of Bhubaneswar. It was reported that they were raising slogans against some prominent party leaders, including VK Pandian, Manas Mangaraj, and Sasmit Patra, at Sankha Bhawan.
According to the source, a group of 25 young party workers had gathered on Friday to voice their grievances against Pandian, Mangaraj, and Patra. They were blaming them for the party's poor performance in the recently held simultaneous elections. The protesters even warned that if no action was taken against these leaders within 48 hours, they would escalate their demonstrations and hold protests at their residences.
In an attempt to calm the situation, BJD's organisational secretary, Pranab Prakash Das, assured the workers that party president Naveen Patnaik would soon address the issue. He also informed them about the formation of a committee, chaired by senior leader Prasanna Acharya, to review the reasons behind the party's defeat to the BJP.
It was noteworthy that a few days after BJD's defeat in the Odisha Assembly elections, pictures and videos of party leader VK Pandian started surfacing on social media. In these, the IAS-turned-politician could be seen sitting on a Vistara flight and walking with a trolley bag at an airport. This led to speculations that Naveen Patnaik's close confidante had left Odisha and flown to New Delhi following the party's crushing defeat.
Later, Sasmit Patra held a press conference to clarify the situation. He stated that Pandian had gone to Delhi as per Naveen Patnaik's instructions. However, some of the protesters were still upset with Patra for defending Pandian's trip to Delhi, even after the party's defeat.
The source also mentioned that the workers were disappointed with the party's overall performance and felt that immediate action needed to be taken to rectify the situation. They were anxiously waiting for Naveen Patnaik's decision on the matter and hoped that the committee formed would provide some insight into the reasons behind their defeat.
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