Bhubaneswar, Nov. 17: Political temperatures in Odisha have soared following the expulsion of Rajya Sabha member Pyari Mohan Mohapatra and his close associate, former MLA Jagneswar Babu, from the BJD.

Mohapatra, who remains unfazed by the move, is trying his best to ensure the success of the November 19 rally of the Odisha Jan Morcha, a quasi-political outfit floated by him, at Bhawanipatna in Kalahandi district.

The proposed Kranti Samavesh of the Morcha has rattled the BJD, which is trying its best to reduce the new body’s outfit’s impact by holding its own workers’ meets in Kalahandi district. Western Odisha seems set to become a political battlefield ahead of the municipal polls next year.

The Congress party has also stepped up its campaign in the area with the party launching the second phase of its “parivartan padyatra”, during which top leaders have held meetings in Kalahandi and Bargarh districts.

Though BJD spokesperson and government chief whip Pravat Tripathy asserted that the Jan Morcha rally would have no impact on the party and none of its leaders would take part in it, sources said the ruling party was worried about erosion of its base in western Odisha.

There have been allegations of the BJD trying to sabotage the Morcha rally by using the police and the administrative machinery. The party’s hand is also being seen behind an appeal surfacing in a section of the local media asking people to reject the rally.

Sources said the BJD was wary about the possible expansion of the Morcha’s base in the state following the success of its October 28 rally in Bhubaneswar, which the ruling party had allegedly sought to scuttle.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik has not only been addressing public meetings in the KBK belt himself, but has also instructed his deputies to step up campaigning in this region.

Consequently, BJD leaders have held workers’ meets at Daspur, Thuamul Rampur and Bhawanipatna in Kalahandi district. The meeting in Bhawanipatna town was held today, apparently in a bid to divert attention from the Morcha rally, scheduled to be held on Monday.

The other threat to the ruling party comes from the Congress, whose parivartan padyatra has stirred the spirits of their local cadres.