TNI Bureau: For the first time in 12 years, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik went abroad. And, now it became clear why he did not do that earlier. His worst fears came true, as reports suggest that his party is heading for a split.
In Naveen Patnaik’s absence, BJD strategist Pyari Mohan Mohapatra triggered a political storm. At least four Ministers and over 25 MLAs are meeting at his residence at midnight now to discuss their next move.
It is believed that the dissidents are trying to woo more MLAs and Ministers into their fold so that they can show strength and dislodge Naveen Patnaik as the Chief Minister.
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Naveen loyalists Damodar Rout, Prafulla Ghadei, Ashok Panda, Sanjay Das Verma, Bhagirathi Badajena, Sarojini Hembram, Debi Mishra, Prabhat Tripathy, Bijayashree Routray and many others have gathered at the Naveen Nivas to plan the counter-strategy if Pyari revolts along with his aides.
Ministers and MLAs who gathered at Pyari Mohan Mohapatra’s residence, include Sarada Nayak, Sanand Marandi, Sanjeeb Sahoo, Anjali Behera, Bishnu Das, Bibhuti Balabantray, Sushant Singh, Sanjeev Kanhar, Srinath Soren, Arabinda Dhali, Manorabjan Sethi, Prabhat Biswal, Jeevan Pradeep Das, Kamala Kant Nayak, Sudarshan Jena, Mukund Sodi, Khageswar Behera, Rajendra Sahoo and Debendra Kanhar.
It is believed that Naveen Patnaik would cut short his visit to UK and return to Odisha by tomorrow or day after tomorrow to deal with the biggest-ever crisis of his life.