Rayagada: Political unrest has intensified in Rayagada as 19 councillors of the Rayagada Municipality have submitted a no-confidence motion against Vice-Chairperson and BJD leader Shubhra Panda. The motion was formally submitted in writing to the District Collector today.

The Rayagada Municipality consists of 24 councillors, out of which the majority have now expressed loss of faith in Panda’s leadership.

This development comes days after former Rajya Sabha MP N. Bhaskar Rao resigned from the BJD. Following his exit, elected representatives loyal to him have reportedly initiated this move against the municipality’s vice-chairperson.

Shubhra Panda is known to be a supporter of BJD district president Jagannath Sarka and Sudhir Das. With this conflict emerging, political observers fear similar situations may arise in other blocks of the district in the coming days.

For nearly a decade, the Rayagada BJD has been plagued by factional feuds between the groups led by Bhaskar Rao and Sudhir Das.