Odisha polls: Naveen vests Subash Chauhan with key party posts

Sambad English Bureau Published On : Mar 28, 2019 at 11:40 PM Updated On : Mar 28, 2019 at 11:50 PM

Bhubaneswar: BJD President and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today kept his promise made to senior BJP leader Subash Chauhan, who quit the saffron party on Tuesday and later joined the ruling BJD, by assigning him with two key roles in the party organisation.

Patnaik has appointed Chauhan as BJD General Secretary and co-observer of the party for Kalahandi, Bolangir, Bargarh and Sambalpur districts for the upcoming Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, a party leader said.

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Welcoming him to the party fold on Wednesday, Naveen had told: “Chouhan will be given a good position in the party.”

Chouhan, a long-time RSS pracharak and State Vice President of the BJP, had quit the party following denial of ticket to contest from the Bargarh Lok Sabha constituency. Chauhan was upset with the BJP for ignoring him and nominating Suresh Pujari for the Bargarh Lok Sabha seat this time.

Ironically, Chouhan had polled 3.72 lakh votes in 2014 – the highest for a BJP candidate in the State. He had lost the last election to the BJD’s Prabhas Singh by just 11,178 votes.