Summary:
Sambalpur: In a setback to BJP in Bargarh district, nine Zilla Parishad (ZP) members quit the party and joined BJD on Friday. Bargarh district president of BJP Arupananda Sahu said BJD is trying to lure the ZP members with money. Meanwhile, BJD has demanded the resignation of ZP president, Mukta Sahu.BJD leader and Bargarh MLA Debesh Acharya said, “The president of the Zilla Parishad should resign from the post as she does not have the support of requisite number of ZP members now. However, the exodus of ZP members has given severe headache to the saffron party ahead of the twin elections scheduled to be held in the second phase on April 18. This has left the future of the two-year-old BJP-led ZP in the dark.The nine ZP members sent their resignation to state BJP president Basant Panda on late Thursday evening and joined BJD at Padampur in Bargarh district in the presence of Bargarh BJD district president Bijaya Ranjan Singh Bariha on Friday.In the three-tier panchayat poll in 2017, while the saffron party grabbed 25 ZP seats out of the total 34 seats in Zilla Parishad, BJD managed to get only nine ZP seats in the election..