BJD saves Vyasanagar municipality after party councilors abstain from trust vote

BHUBANESWAR: In a sigh of relief for the BJD, the trust vote against Vyasanagar municipality chairperson Sabita Rout was rejected on Wednesday due to absence of required number of councilors.
The BJD managed to save the municipality as none of its 16 councilors appeared for the vote after the party issued whip asking all its councilors to abstain voting.BJD chief Naveen Patnaik also intervened in the matter on Tuesday and asked all its councilors to work unitedly.
“Consent of two-third majority of the 26-member civic body was required to conduct voting, according to the norms. Since only nine Congress councilors turned up by the stipulated timing, the no-confidence motion against the chairperson was rejected,” said Abdul Alim Khan, additional district magistrate of Kalinganagar.
After winning 16 of total 26 wards of the Vyasanagar municipality, the BJD formed the council in September 2013. Party candidate Sabita Rout was elected as chairperson.
On August 17, nine congress councilors moved the no-trust motion against the chairperson apparently after getting support from some of the disgruntled BJD councilors who were not happy with the leadership of Rout.
A day before the trust vote (on Tuesday), senior BJD leader Debi Prasad Mishra addressing a news conference here claimed that all BJD councilors were united and they would not participate in the trust vote. Mishra also claimed that the differences among the councilors were sorted out.
According to reports, the BJD councilors who pledged their support for the chairperson following intervention of party chief were kept in a local hotel since Tuesday amid close watch on them. Local BJD MLA Akash Dasnayak was also camping in the town to monitor the situation.
“Since some of the BJD councilors assured us to cooperate during the trust vote, we moved the no-confidence motion against the chairperson. They could not turn up due to the pressure mounted on them by the BJD leadership. We would continue our fight against the misrule of the chairperson,” said Bandita Parida, a Congress councilor.
Due to infighting among councilors, the ruling party earlier lost the trust vote in Keonjhar municipality in December, last year while it also lost the Dhenkanal municipality in August.