Sharad faces flak for Orissa JD split

What angered the dissidents was Sharad Yadav8217;s curt reply to them this afternoon as both sides were negotiating for a status quo. 8220;Orissa is not India,8221; was how he replied, while sticking to his party8217;s avowed policy not to have any overt or covert tie-up with the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The rebel leaders had been pressing the central leadership of the party to declare Naveen Patnaik, former MP as the president of the State Dal unit, authorise it to chose candidates for the coming Lok Sabha elections and adopt a poll strategy keeping the local conditions in view.

Ram Krushna Patnaik, who is being projected as the leader of opposition in the Assembly in the event of the split formalising tomorrow, told The Indian Express that the rebels tried their best not to precipitate the situation but had 8220;no alternative8221;. According to him, had the central leaders agreed to the condition of declaring Naveen Patnaik as the president of the State unit, things would have been different. 8220;It was out of anguish on being ignored we chose to cut off our ties, 8221; he said.

Those who have decided to stay in the Dal almost echo similar view. Blaming the central leaders of the Dal squarely for the crisis, they said such a situation would not have arisen had the leadership in the State was changed.