BERHAMPUR: Infighting in Ganjam BJD was out in the open after two factions of BJD corporators engaged in a verbal duel at the council meeting of Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BeMC) on Wednesday.
Soon after the meeting started, the proceedings were disrupted as a group of BJD corporators owing allegiance to former MLA Bikram Panda, targeted the BeMC commissioner B Mishra over various civic issues. Another faction of corporators, who are believed to be supported by Ganjam BJD president RC Chayupatnaik and Berhampur mayor Sanghamitra Dalai, tried to defend the commissioner.
Sources said the group supported by Panda reacted sharply over the newly-constituted standing committee and other issues of the corporation following which the mayor and other corporators protested.
The Panda faction raised slogans against Dalei and Mishra forcing the duo to storm out of the meeting angrily. The agitating corporators later staged dharna near the main gate of the BeMC office for some time.
Notably, the BJD runs the BeMC with absolute majority. Of the 42 Wards in BeMC, BJD boasts of 36 corporators while BJP has three, Congress one and Independents two.
Recently, the group of corporators owing allegiance to Panda had submitted a grievance letter addressed to the chief minister through Ganjam collector Dibyajyoti Parida alleging illegal payment by the corporation to a de-listed trust.
Following the incident, BJD president Naveen Patnaik had called all the 36 corporators of the party for a discussion last month to sort out the differences. But it reportedly failed to mend the rift in Ganjam BJD.
