Sources said that the decision of party chief Naveen Patnaik to address a public meeting at Kujang, the stronghold of former minister Damodar Rout has irked the rebels led by the party's political affairs committee chairman Bijoy Mahapatra.

This is for the first time that Patnaik is addressing a rally in the undivided Cuttack district. The public meeting which was originally scheduled on October 11 has been shifted to October 16. Quite significantly none of the senior leaders of the party from the coastal area will attend the public meeting at Kujang.

The entry of Rout and former ministers Sarat Kar and Kalindi Charan Behera to the BJD was opposed by the rebel camp. The effigies of three leaders were burnt by the party activists owing allegiance to the rebel camp.

Meanwhile, the rebel camp has chalked out a programme coinciding with theparty president's programme at Kujang. Mahapatra on Tuesday addressed a demonstration of party workers at Basta in Balasore district, the constituency of party MLA Raghunath Mahanty.

Mahapatra is also scheduled to address another meeting at Bhadrak on October 16 coinciding with Naveen Patnaik's meeting at Kujang. The Union Minister of State for Coal Dilip Ray is also likely to attend the public meeting at Bhadrak.

Sources said that the rebel camp in the BJD is quite unhappy over the manner in which the party is being run. Despite the announcement made by Naveen Patnaik, the leadership is yet to chalk out an agitation programme against the Congress government in the state which is in the defensive following fresh developments in the Anjana Mishra molestation case.

However, the group trying for a patch between Patnaik and Mahapatra have not lost hope. They hope that the party president will call meeting of the senior leaders of the party soon to iron out the differences and chalk out an action programmeagainst the Congress government.