Sajanagad: Nilagiri MLA Sukant Kumar Nayak, who is unsure of getting ticket for the coming polls, put up a show of strength at KC High School playground in Nilagiri Tuesday.
In the guise of a seminar “Freedom Fighters”, Nayak managed to gather over 10,000 BJD workers. His ‘show of strength’ was apparently the fallout of events a day earlier.
BJP leader Sushma Rani Biswal left the saffron party and joined BJD Monday, hoping to get the ruling party ticket in view of BJD move to give 33 per cent reservation for women. Reacting to her decision, supporters of Nayak claimed ‘conspiracy’ behind her switch-over.
They warned the ‘conspirators’ that the people of Nilagiri, the soil of freedom fighters, will not forgive them. They asserted that Nayak, inspired by late Biju Patnaik, had given up his service and joined politics to serve the people of Nilagiri.
“In the last five years, due to Nayak’s able leadership, Nilagiri has achieved much progress with a number of developmental works,” they said.
In the 2014 elections, Sushma Rani Biswal had contested on BJP ticket unsuccessfully and played her role as an opposition leader in the constituency.
A couple of days ago, supporters of Nayak, upset over the possibility of Nayak being denied BJD ticket, had held a constituency-level emergency meeting of the party at NAC Kalyan Mandap and announced the holding of a massive rally March 12.
PNN