BJD Legislature Party splits

BHUBANESWAR, Dec 2 (PTI) — The split in the 27-member Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Legislature Party in Orissa was formalised today with the assembly Speaker according recognition to the two separate groups.

The 13-member group of MLAs opposed to BJD president Naveen Patnaik was recognised as BJD(A) while the rest 14 members loyal to Mr Patnaik would be known as BJD(B), Speaker Chintamani Dyan Samantra told the assembly.

The BJDLP had split on November 16 when the rebel MLAs removed Mr Rama Krushna Patnaik, a Naveen loyalist, from leadership and replaced him with Mr Prafulla Samal, triggering a crisis in the party.

The MLAs owing allegiance to the BJD president elected Mr Rama Chandra Sethi as their leader. They had met the Speaker yesterday seeking a formal recognition.

The Speaker withdrew the recognition given to Mr Samal as Leader of the Opposition and said neither group commanded the requisite strength for such recognition.

The Speaker said Mr Samal had been recognised as Leader of the Opposition with the support of 15 party MLAs and it was announced in the House yesterday. But later in the afternoon, 14 BJD MLAs, including two who had earlier signed in favour of Mr Samal, had handed over a resolution to him conveying the election of Mr Sethi as their leader, he said.

Mr Dyansamantra said he was convinced that there was no unanimity between the two groups on the election of their leader and so decided to accord separate recognition to both groups keeping in view the necessity of running the house in a proper manner.

As soon as Mr Dyansamantra announced his decision, Mr Panchanan Kanungo, a legislator of the Samal group, demanded that the two MLAs Mr Madhabananda Behera and Mr Roshni Singhdeo, who had signed for both sides, should be accorded separate recognition.

But the Speaker did not respond to his plea.