With the industrially-rich undivided Dhenkanal district remaining unrepresented in the Naveen Patnaik Ministry, lobbying for a ministerial berth has earnestly begun.
Two ministers, Sanjeeb Sahoo and Anjali Behera, representing Angul and Dhenkanal districts respectively, were recently sacked for their alleged role in the aborted coup attempt against Naveen.
According to reports available, the ministerial claimants, instead of taking up their own case, are hell-bent on projecting others as Pyari’s protégés.
According to political observers, Dhenkanal MLA Naveen Nanda, who along with three of his colleagues from NCP, recently merged with the BJD, has little chance with criminal cases pending against him.
Meanwhile, various groups within the BJD are busy burning effigies of Pyarimohan Mohapatra to prove their loyalty to Naveen.
Angul legislator Rajani Kant Singh is among the top contenders for a berth. Son of former minister and Biju loyalist Adwait Prasad Singh, he had been sidelined since 2004 poll.
The other names doing the rounds are that of Government Chief Whip Rabi Narayan Pany and Parjang MLA Nrusingh Sahu. However, Kamakshyanagar MLA Prafulla Mallick’s chances are bleak for his closeness to Pyari. Pyari belongs to Kamakshyanagar area and did his early education at Talcher.
Amid the suspense, the role of BJD MP from Dhenkanal, Tathagat Satpathy in the selection process cannot be ruled out.
Satpathy over the years had been facing stiff opposition from former minister Anjali Behera.
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