Bhubaneswar, Oct. 16 -- The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Thursday witnessed a visible split in the party as two factions marked the birthday of BJD supremo and former Odisha Chief Minister (CM) Naveen Patnaik at separate venues in Paradip. While a group of supporters celebrated the birthday in the morning, others later celebrated separately in the evening.

The morning and evening celebrations were held independently, even as party leaders have maintained that the Paradip unit remains united.

In the morning, a group of party supporters gathered at the Biju Patnaik Memorial Trust premises in Paradip to commemorate Naveen Patnaik's birthday. Key supporters of Sambit Rautaray and Bapi Sarkhel participated in the program, which included felicita...