NCP Orissa chief quits over BJD

Angry with NCP boss Sharad Pawar for supporting his bete noire,Orissa NCP chief Bijoy Mohapatra on Thursday resigned from the party along with several supporters.

Mohapatra,who is in a peculiar position since Pawar’s decision to support Naveen during the trust vote,said the well-planned conspiracy hatched by Naveen Patnaik along with NCP leaders to stop his entry to the Orissa Assembly was a shocking decision to him and NCP workers in the state. “For the past nine years I have fought sincerely and continuously against Naveen Government and its policies. After BJD-BJP break-up,the Central NCP bosses decided to support Naveen. It was communicated to me at the last moment,” he said.

On Wednesday,NCP spokesperson D P Tripathy met BJD Rajya Sabha MP Pyarimohan Mohapatra to thrash out NCP’s seat-sharing ratio with the BJD. NCP leader Praful Patel would arrive here on Saturday to finalise the deal.

“I am sorry to say that the NCP central leaders have sold the state unit to Naveen Patnaik. I certainly can’t compromise with the policies and principles for which I stand for.” Supporters suggested Mohapatra may join the BJP.