IANS reported that two leaders of the protest movement against a proposed steel plant being set up by South Korean steel major POSCO in Orissa Wednesday won the local body elections held in the region Tuesday.

The election in Dhinkia panchayat, the centre of the anti POSCO struggle in Jagatsinghpur district was postponed in 2007 after clashes between supporters of the project and those opposed to it. The election was conducted Tuesday and as per the results declared Wednesday, Mr Sisir Mohapatra and Mr Prakash Jena were elected as the sarpanch (village head) and Panchayat Samiti (committee) member respectively.

Mr Mohapatra is the secretary of the Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS), an organization that has been campaigning against the project.

Mr Jena is also a PPSS leader and has been languishing in a jail for the past seven months. He was arrested on charges of attacking supporters of the plant.

Mr Prasant Paikray a PPSS spokesman told IANS that “The election of two of our leaders is the verdict against the company. It will strengthen our agitation against POSCO.”

(Sourced from IANS)