Bhubaneswar: Campaign against Kendrapara MP Baijayant "Jay" Panda within the BJD gathered momentum on Tuesday as party leaders from Mahakalpada, an Assembly segment within the constituency, accused Panda of neglecting the party's interest and urged chief minister Naveen Patnaik to take action against him.

Naveen assured them of looking into their grievances and asked the BJD's observer for Kendrapara, Pramila Mallick, and Cuttack observer Usha Devi to examine the matter and submit a report.

About 300 party workers from Mahakalapada constituency, including presidents of Marshagahi and Mahalakapada blocks, four zila parishad members, sarpanches of almost all the 48 panchayats met the chief minister on Monday and accused Panda of neglecting the interests of the party and its cadres.

Prafulla Chandra Das, a BJD leader from the area, said: "We told the chief minister that we vote for Panda because he is the party's candidate. But after being elected, he has forgotten his own people. Panda is even using the MPLAD funds to serve the interests of the BJP. He is working like a BJP agent."

However, Panda continues to stick to his stand. Reacting to the chief minister's meeting with two disgruntled leaders, former MP Baishnab Parida and former MLA Nabin Nanda, Panda tweeted that he was happy that chief minister had heard his party colleagues who had shared his concern.

He tweeted: "I'm happy to learn that my leader and party President has summoned and heard some of our party colleagues who had expressed the same concerns that I had, in the interest of the party and our state."