Biju’s son breaks up Orissa JD

The rebels said that 29 out of the 43 Dal MLAs were with them. However, going by a head count, 25 MLAs attended the meeting. The rebels say that four more belonging to their group were not present at the meeting. The rebels will submit their application to Assembly Speaker Chintamani Dyan Samantray tomorrow to formalise the split.

Talking to newsmen soon after the meeting was over, senior leader of the breakaway group Bijay Mahapatra said the regional outfit would try to ensure one-to-one fight against the Congress during the Lok Sabha elections.

Patnaik told newsmen that his father Biju always fought for the development of the state. “We have joined hands to fulfill the dream of my father,” he said.

Patnaik also called upon all like-minded people to join the outfit.

Those present at the meeting include Bijay Mahapatra, Kamala Das, Kunduru Kushal, Panchanan Kanungo, Debi Mishra, Bishnu Das, Bijoyshree Routray, Jadav Majhi, Roshni Singhdeo, Ramesh Chandra Chyau Patnaik, Ramakrushna Patnaik, Sachidananda Dalal, Prabhat Tripathy, AU Singhdeo, Amar Prasad Satpathy, Balabhadra Majhi, Ramchandra sethi, Maheswar Mahanty, Sugnani Kumari Deo, Bikram Keshari Arukh, Suryanarayan Patra, Prasanna Acharya, Prasanna Patsani, Madhabananda Behera and Kalpataru Das.

Union Minister Dilip Ray and Dal MP Anchal Das also attended the meeting. Hectic lobbying throughout the day preceded the announcement of the formation of the regional outfit. The Assembly lobby was full of Dal leaders from both the sides trying to garner support. Three MLAs who had signed the fax message to the Central leadership opposing a tie-up with the BJP are said to have switched sides. The announcement of the regional outfit of course did not come as a surprise to Orissa Dal president Ashok Das who refused to react to the developments. “I will not react unless the party is formally split,” he said.

The atmosphere in the Dal camp was full of remorse. The lobby became deserted as soon as the split was announced. Das, who is also the leader of the Opposition, was closeted with his supporters in his Assembly chamber soon after the announcement.

Meanwhile, continuing his efforts towards forging a “secular democratic front” for the coming LS elections, Yadav began tapping both Samajwadi Janata Party chief Chandra Shekhar and Janata Dal leaders. Yadav held discussions with Chandra Shekhar over lunch. He also intended to meet VP Singh but was not successful as the former prime minister was undergoing dialysis today.

In another significant development, he also met Janata Dal leaders RL Jalappa and SR Bommai, both of whom are in favour of their party fighting the elections along with the RJD. He had already met Prime Minister IK Gujral yesterday and reportedly offered a “safe seat” from Bihar for him to contest. The Bihar leader’s meetings are with the idea of bringing together not only the Congress but also other parties like Chandra Shekhar’s SJP, Kanshi Ram’s Bahujan Samaj Party and Ajit Singh’s Bharatiya Kisan Kaamgar Party to fight the BJP on the one hand and to isolate his political rivals including former prime minister HD Deve Gowda and Janata Dal President Sharad Yadav.