Office of the Angul Municipality (file picture)

Angul, Sept. 19: Angul Municipality chairperson Binodini Dash, who is from the Congress, was defeated in a no-confidence motion today.

All 22 councillors in Angul council were present at the meeting called today by the district collector to vote on the no-confidence motion brought by 14 councillors earlier this month. While five members abstained, 17 persons voted in favour of the motion.

“The no-confidence motion against the chairperson Binodini Dash was passed. I submitted the report to the collector and he would write to the government for necessary action,” said sub-collector Sudarshan Parida, who conducted the meeting at municipal office today.

Incidentally, all the five who abstained were BJD councillors and all the Congress members voted against their party nominee Binodini Dash.

“It is a conspiracy against me. I worked a lot for the people. If people do not want me, I will leave my office and continue to serve the people as a councillor,” Binodini said.

Pratap Pradhan, president of district Congress committee and the leader of dissident councillor group, appeared jubilant after the voting result. “I had written many times to her to change her style of functioning and work for the people in a proper manner. She never listened to me. She is a former BJD worker and had a soft corner for the ruling party. Now, the majority of party councillors wanted her out and that’s what happened. Angul municipal council will have a Congress chairperson again. We will decide on her successor. The seat is reserved for women,” said Pratap.

With Binodini’s removal, political bickering that was going on in the municipality has ended for now. Infighting within the Congress ranks came to fore last month when the chairperson invited the local BJD MLA to inaugurate some projects in the municipality allegedly without consulting her own party councillors.

Enraged Congress councillors had ransacked pandals of the proposed functions and damaged the municipal office. Four FIRs from both sides had been lodged with the local police. Later, the Congress councillors moved a no confidence motion against her.