Loyalists waiting for Naveen

BHUBANESWAR: After the failed attempt to split the BJD by Rajya Sabha member Pyarimohan Mohapatra, party MLAs gathered at Naveen Niwas, who is away in London, to express their loyalty to him on Wednesday.Chief Whip Rabi Narayan Pani said more than 85 MLAs and seven Lok Sabha members were at the Chief Minister’s residence. Some more are on their way and in touch with senior leaders, Pani said. Describing Naveen Patnaik as the supreme leader in the BJD, Pyari detractor and former minister Damodar Rout said the MLAs are waiting at the Naveen Niwas for the Chief Minister to return.Finance Minister Prafulla Chandra Ghadei said the MLAs would receive the CM at the airport here on his arrival on Thursday. The CM who was on a tour of London is rushing back to Bhubaneswar in view of the crisis in the party.Several senior loyal leaders, including Ghadei and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Raghunath Mohanty, are monitoring the situation and waiting for Naveen’s return.However, Deputy Speaker Sananda Marandi, Women and Child Development Minister Anjali Behera, Housing and Urban Development Sarada Nayak, Transport Minister Sanjeev Sahu and some MLAs who belong to the core Pyari group were not seen at Naveen Niwas. Energy Minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak, another Pyari loyalist, also did not go to Naveen Niwas. The Parliamentary Affairs Minister said he was in Hyderabad.The group loyal to Naveen claimed that there is no threat to the Government as many of those who attended the meeting at Pyari’s residence have crossed over. The Chief Minister’s Office  also confirmed his return.