Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik to meet BJD MLAs, MPs today

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister and BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik will be meeting party colleagues on Friday. Patnaik came back to Bhubaneswar on Thursday night to a grand welcome by partymen who came in huge numbers to show solidarity after a rebellion by Naveen's confidant and BJD MP Pyari Mohan Mohapatra on Tuesday.

The revolt led by Pyari took place while Patnaik was on a week-long official tour to the UK - his first foreign tour in a decade.

Though the rebellion failed due to lack of adequate number of rebel MLAs supporting Pyari, the incident has made it clear that all is not well in the party.

Patnaik will meet BJD members to decide the fate of Pyari Mohan Mahapatra, the MP who had led a failed revolt within the party.

Pyari had earlier claimed that Patnaik was encircled by a group of conspirators comprising ministers, parliamentarians and MLAs who were trying to topple his government. "The conspirators comprising, ministers, MPs and MLAs want to topple Patnaik in order to fulfill their vested interests," he claimed but declined to name them.

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