Accompanied by senior party leaders, including BJD organisational secretary Pranab Prakash Das and several MLAs, Pandian visited the famous shrine in the afternoon. He offered prayers and paid obeisance to the Goddess inside the temple.

During his visit, Pandian also interacted with the temple priests as well as locals.

It may be noted here that Maa Tara Tarini temple holds special significance for Pandian as he had taken several measures for the development of the shrine during his tenure as the Collector of Ganjam district. Later, he played a major role in the transformation of refurbished temple.

Earlier in the day, BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik welcomed Pandian into the party fold.

The former bureaucrat took blessings of the CM by touching his feet before formally joining the Conch party at 10.15 am in presence of several senior BJD leaders, ending days of speculation about him taking a plunge into state politics after his voluntary retirement from service almost a month ago. “Pandian has been working hard for the people of Odisha for a number of years and he will continue to do so in the future as a member of the party,” Naveen said.

Pandian said with the blessings of Lord Jagannath and under the guidance of the CM, he will work for the people of the state with sincerity, dedication, selflessness and humility. He also sought the cooperation of all party leaders.

Speaking on the occasion, Naveen paid tributes to Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi on his 154th birth anniversary, saying that he has been a source of inspiration for all. “The ruling BJD has been working to uplift downtrodden, women, ST and SC community and also the youth of the state. The women’s reservation bill, which the party has long been fighting for, has finally seen the light of the day. The government’s Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana has proved to be a game changer in health sector. The state has also set example in transforming schools, food safety and sports,” he said.

Taking a swipe at the Opposition, he added, “The Opposition is anti-development and anti-people. They only mislead people with wrong information. They indulge in such activities ahead of election because of which the people of the state have been rejecting them year after year. They also attempted to the ongoing development works at Jagannath Temple in Puri and Lingaraj Temple in Bhubaneswar. People will never elect them to power.”

The ‘padayatra’ is being organised in every ward and panchayat throughout Odisha till October 11. BJD workers and leaders will also attend training camps, which will be organised in all the assembly constituencies and monitored by district presidents, observers and other senior leaders. Blood donation camps and plantation drives will also be conducted across the state during this period, sources said.

Notably, the BJD’s ‘padayatra’ coincides with Congress’ ongoing ‘Ghar Ghar Congress’ programme, which will continue till October 15.

However, the office order cites no reason for his removal.

This came amid speculation of possible disciplinary action against the lawmaker over his critical views on the ruling dispensation and 5T secretary V K Pandian and the seemingly growing differences within the ruling party ahead of twin elections scheduled in April 2024 in Odisha. BJD leaders have been targeting Soumya, accusing him of blackmailing the party, for the past few days.

On September 9, Industries and Energy Minister Pratap Keshari Deb even asked Soumya to quit BJD if he was unable to abide by the party discipline. BJD MP Amar Patnaik later told the media that criticising the party while being a member was unacceptable.

Soumya had earlier retorted that his attempts to reform the party cannot be called indiscipline. He also said the leaders making statements against him were being pressurised to do so.

In editorial articles in a leading Odia daily as well as bytes to journalists, the legislator had attacked 5T secretary V K Pandian’s whirlwind district visits and stranglehold over the government and party.

The deceased has been identified as Madhusudhan Bisoyi (40), a resident of Kumarpani village. Two persons have been detained by the police in connection with the incident.

According to sources, Madhusudan was returning to his village at Kumarapani when three to four unidentified miscreants in a car and bikes intercepted him at a river bridge. They attacked him with swords and other weapons and threw him off the river bridge.

Though Madhusudan was rescued and rushed to a hospital, he was declared dead by the doctors. While the murder was suspected to have taken place due to some past rivalry, the exact reason will be ascertained after a thorough investigation. The incident could also be the fallout of some ongoing political rivalry.

The police have started an investigation into the incident. The two persons detained by the police are being interrogated.