Bhubaneswar, Jan 9: With the election round the corner, infighting has surfaced in the BJP in Barabati-Cuttack segment of Cuttack district.
Lalatendu Badu, who has been in charge of the city BJP for the past 4 years, is an aspirant for party ticket in the upcoming election. He has even started pre-election activities that have made other aspirants reactive.
Badu has created a buzz by removing some senior leaders from the party's official WhatsApp group. So, there has been a lot of confusion in the party circle.
Similarly, the former state women's president Smruti Patnaik is also geared up pre-election in the locality. By openly challenging the city president, she is making her presence by organizing “Cha Pe Charcha” in different places of the city through parallel organizations.
On the other hand, the first-time BJP corporator Gagan Ojha has also emerged as a strong contender for the party ticket. He recently organized a big rally and showed his strength ahead of the election.
Apart from them, the three times BJP MLA from this seat, Samir Dey has not left hope. Despite ill health, he also organized get-together program on New Year's and put himself in the ring.
Barabati-Cuttack seat, which was once known as the stronghold of the BJP, was won three times in a row. Dey had won the seat in a row, but he is now struggling. Even if there is no organization, everyone is dying to become a MLA. The party has been split into different groups. That has worried the grassroots workers.
