Anjali Behera joins fray as Independent, rebels galore in BJD

Reported by Chinmaya Dehury

Bhubaneswar, Mar 26:

Denied a party ticket, former Odisha minister Anjali Behera chosen to revolt. She filed her papers as an Independent candidate for Hindol Assembly constituency on the last day of the filing of nominations for the second phase polls, today.anajali behera

Ms Behera, the sitting MLA from the constituency, was denied the party ticket by BJD supremo and chief minister Naveen Patnaik probably because of her links with his bete noire Pyari Mohan Mohapatra.

Behera has been elected to the Assembly three times consecutively from the same constituency.

Ms Behera joins the list of party rebels who have already filed nominations as independents for both the first and second phase of elections in the state.

As many as 35 sitting BJD MLAs  and six MPs have have been denied tickets this time.

Sources in the BJD said there is apprehension among the key strategists of the party that those who have been deprived of  tickets but have not joined the electoral fray,  are also likely to play a negative role during campaigning and  help candidates from other parties in their respective constituencies.

“There is a feeling within the party that the rebel factor may cost them dear, especially in the coastal districts which has been the mainstay of the BJD all these year,” the sources said.

It may be mentioned here that BJD had won 66 of the 77 Assembly seats in the coastal belt in 2009 and six MLAs from this region had later joined the party.

Also Read

Comments are closed.