BALESWAR: BJD supremo and chief minister Naveen Patnaik today shocked everyone by making an unexpected decision in the run-up to the Balasore Sadar by-election. As the new face of the party, former councilor Swarup Das has sealed his candidacy. Naveen’s masterstroke has been the talk of the town in BJP politics. Rabindra’s camp has expressed displeasure over the announcement of Das’s name as a new face that has not been discussed at all. Jeevanbindu district coordinator MDD Sahirul Haque resigned from the party, while Rabindra’s many loyalists, along with multiple students and youth BJD activists, gathered in front of his office. Rabindra, who is likely to be dissatisfied with the candidature, is rumored to be making some big decisions. Meanwhile, all the BJD legislators and ministers in the district have gathered at the local Kalinga Hotel to monitor the situation and take stock of the situation, according to a source. There was a long discussion at the party office with district supervisor and minister Pratap Jena, MP Pratap Deb, party vice-president Devi Mishra, MLA Pranab Prakash Das. However, no final decision has been made on the candidacy. Later, the matter was referred to Supremo. The district superintendent presented his report to Supremo, who was briefed on the party’s internal conflict over his candidacy. Candidates for both the Tirthol and Balasore constituencies were scheduled to be announced at 11 a.m. At around 12 noon, an unannounced order was issued to close all the election offices opened by Rabindra in Balasore and various places. Rabindra’s followers felt some great change after realizing this. The bomber struck shortly after noon in front of a crowd of 5,000 people. A two-line press statement was released to the media alleging that Supremo had stamped his name on Swarup Kumar Das for the Balasore seat. Rabindra’s camp in Balasore was devastated to see the picture reversed.
