Hundreds of BJP workers join NCP in Orissa

Bhubaneswar, Nov 11 (UNI) Hundreds of BJP workers in Nimapara and Balikida Assembly constituency today quit the party and joined en masse the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) at a function at the party office here.

NCP state coordinator Bijaya Mohapatra later told newsmen that the merger ceremony of the NCP would continue till the end of this month followed by a state level convention in the first week of next month to be addressed by party supremo Sharad Pawar.

Mr Mohapatra said the BJP had suffered a major setback in Nimapara as all the office bearers of the BJP in the constituency, including a national council member, had joined the NCP.

He said while the ruling BJD-BJP had suffered the casualty in the coastal Orissa, the BJP was breaking in Western Orissa following a mass exodus from these two parties to the NCP.

It may be recalled that the NCP Orissa unit was reconstituted in September last with the merger of the Orissa Gana Parishad, a regional party floated by former minister Bijaya Mohapatra and the Orissa unit of the Janata Dal (S) led by its president Ashok Das.

UNI