BHUBANESWAR: The ruling BJD on Monday received a blow when the chairman of Dhenkanal Municipality, Indramani Behera, was defeated in a Congress-sponsored no-confidence motion.
Behera lost after four BJD members revolted against him and took part in the vote defying the party whip. The BJP too supported the Congress. In the 23-member municipality, the BJD had just six ward members. The Congress had the majority with 11 members followed by BJP's five. The BJD had formed the council with the help of the BJP. At Monday's voting, three members were absent and three votes rejected. Behera lost with 17 votes going against him. Collector (Dhenkanal) Roopa Roshan Sahu said vice-chairperson Namita Behera will function as interim head. The incumbent chairman had moved the Orissa high court seeking rejection of the motion. The court refused to stay the motion. "The matter being sub judice we will wait for the disposal of the case to decide the future course of action," she said.
After the trust motion, jubilant opposition members said they wanted Behera to go because of large-scale corruption during his three years stint in power. At the time of the alliance, the BJD had agreed to share power for two years. "As the party defied the agreement, we voted for Behera's ouster," BJP ward member Sudhanshu Dalei said.
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