Bhubaneswar, May 22: The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) has dared the BJD and the BJP to take it on in Odisha's tribal-dominated districts, saying no party could appropriate its space as long as it fought for tribal rights and causes.

The attack comes in the wake of the BJD inducting former JMM leader Debasis Marandi into the party fold in an attempt to retrieve lost ground in Mayurbhanj district.

State-vice president and executive member of the JMM central committee, Ramchandra Murmu, told The Telegraph: "JMM takes up the causes of tribals and our support base is intact. Marandi's departure will not impact us. He was not even an active member of the party."

Marandi worked as a doctor with Nalco before he joined the JMM.

The JMM also said the morale of thousands of party workers was high despite Marandi's defection.

Murmu said: "As long as the party fights for the causes of tribals, no party, including the BJD and the BJP, can appropriate the JMM's space."

Marandi had contested the last general election against BJD MP Ram Chandra Hansdah, who is currently lodged in Jharapada jail for his alleged involvement in the deposit collection scam. The BJD suspended him from the party in 2014.

Sources said the BJD had roped in Marandi as part of a tactical move as it believes that it would be well-placed should a bypoll for the Mayurbhanj Lok Sabha seat be necessitated. If Hansdah is convicted in the scam, Marandi could replace him as the BJD candidate.

"At this time point, we have no leader who can fill the void if Hansdah were to step back. Former sports minister Sudam Marandi, a stalwart from Mayurbhanj who was dropped from the ministry recently, no more enjoys the mass base he once did. Keeping that in mind, the party president has roped in Marandi," said a senior BJD leader.

The BJD is taking steps to revamp the party in an attempt to retrieve lost ground in the district after its dismal showing in the last panchayat election. It won only five out of 56 zila parishad seats in the district and has, since then, set about restructuring its organisation.

Murmu, however, has taken a dig at those attempts. He said: "We had inducted Marnadi into our party in 2014 to field him against the BJD candidate. The irony is that now they have roped in the same person, who had vociferously spoken against them."

Murmu also outlined the party's plans for the future. "We will shortly unveil a plan to demand an autonomous council, including Mayrubhanj, Keonjhar and Sundargarh districts, on the lines of the one for Gorkhas in Darjeeling. We will also raise the issue of a second steel plant in the area," he said.