Keonjhar: After being re-nominated for Ghasipura Assembly segment, School and Mass Education Minister Badri Narayan Patra threw an open challenge to OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik to fight the polls against him.
Notably, a bitter rivalry between the two heavyweights of Keonjhar has always been there if several incidents in the past are any indication.
Patra said Niranjan and his brother had unsuccessfully made all possible efforts to implicate him in various cases so as to preempt his re-nomination for the forthcoming poll.
Patra thanked Chief Minister Naveen Pataik for reposing faith in him and giving him another chance to fight the poll.
“Niranjan should fight the forthcoming polls against me if he has the guts,” said a miffed Patra.
Taking a swipe at the OPCC president, Patra said that people have forgotten Niranjan since he has done nothing for Keonjhar.
“Niranjan has been looking after his commercial interests by neglecting the development of Keonjhar. He has always made efforts to entangle me in various controversies with help of television channels and a newspaper owned by his brother,” he alleged.
Mocking at his arch rival, Patra said, “If there is discontentment against me in Ghasipura, Niranjan should descend on the electoral battle on that ground.”
Sounding a note of confidence, Patra, said, “I have been with the people of my constituency and working for them. I will again win the election by a huge margin.”
Notably, Patra had won the 2014 Assembly election by a margin of 88,000 votes.