Bhubaneswar: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) will send a 15-member delegation of its leaders to Kotia panchayat in Koraput district on Friday to assess the ground situation amid a fresh dispute over jurisdiction following Andhra Pradesh’s notification for panchayat elections in the border area.
BJD president and Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik has constituted the delegation comprising sitting and former legislators, former MPs and senior party functionaries. The team will interact with residents, visit border areas and hold discussions with the district administration before submitting its findings to Patnaik, the party said in a statement on Thursday.
The move comes a day after Odisha Revenue Minister Suresh Pujari indicated that the state government would approach the court again over the Kotia dispute.
The delegation includes MLA Manohar Randhari; former ministers Ramesh Majhi, Jagannath Saraka and Rabi Narayan Nanda; former MPs Jhina Hikaka and Pradeep Majhi; and former MLAs Prabhu Jani, Manas Madkami, Raghuram Padal, Prafulla Pangi and Pritam Padhi.
BJD General Secretary Bhrugu Baxipatra, Tribal Cell General Secretary Kausalya Hikaka, Koraput Zilla Parishad president Sasmita Meleka and Koraput Municipal Council chairperson Lalat Ranjan Sethi are also part of the team.
The latest development has intensified political activity in Odisha over the long-standing boundary dispute, with the BJD questioning the state government’s handling of the issue.
Patnaik has also written to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, describing the developments as an assault on Odia Swabhiman (Odia self-respect) and alleging that the state government has failed to safeguard Odisha’s interests despite both states being governed by the BJP.
Kotia, a cluster of villages along the Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border, has remained at the centre of a protracted dispute between the two states over territorial jurisdiction and administrative control.
