Malkangiri: The unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in this district plunged into crisis Tuesday after 20 frontline leaders resigned together. This development, coming just ahead of the visit of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik here October 12, for inauguration of the bus service under the LAccMI scheme, has assumed significance.
It is expected that most of these 20 leaders will shift their allegiance to the BJD. The new Rs 3,178 crore public transport network programme Location Accessible Multi-modal Initiative (LAccMI) scheme has been launched by the state government aimed at establishing connectivity between gram panchayats and the state capital. It has sparked a row with the private bus operators in the state raising objections on its implementation. The leaders who have resigned from the saffron party are Chitrasen Swain (unit vice-president), Bijay Krishna Das (Balimela town vice-president), Seemanchal Pradhan (general secretary), Trinath Sahu (president, BJP Krushak Morcha), Purna Chandra Chalan (president, ST Morcha) and general body members Purna Chandra Biswal, Purusottam Muduli, Ramesh Kumar Jani, Sudarshan Dakua, Sai Kumar Patra, Ashu Kanjeria, Rama Khara, Sonu Nag, Surendra Sodhi, Amulya Machha, Utkal Charan Muduli, Kunu Pangi, Balaram Swain, Ranjit Behera and Rahul Bagh. The leaders who have quit the BJP have sent their resignation letters to Odisha unit president Manmohan Samal.
Explaining the reason behind the mass resignations, Bijay Krishna mentioned that they had failed to help the common people despite being with the BJP for more than 13 years. He alleged that people are drifting away from the saffron party due to the false promises made by BJP leaders. “Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has delivered to Malkangiri district what he has promised. He is going to provide bus services to rural people from villages to this town through the LaccMI scheme in the coming days. It will help the poor in availing education and healthcare facilities,” said Bijay Krishna. He added that after looking at the people-oriented work carried out by the ruling party, he and others thought it would be pertinent to resign from the BJP.