Bhubaneswar: Amid growing political heat over Andhra Pradesh’s decision to hold panchayat elections in the disputed Kotia region, the BJD on Thursday announced that it would send a high-level delegation to the area to assess the situation.BJD president Naveen Patnaik has directed a 15-member party team to visit Kotia in Koraput district on Friday and submit a report to him in the backdrop of Andhra Pradesh’s announcement of holding polls in three panchayats. Both Odisha and Andhra Pradesh stake claims for 21 of the 28 villages in Kotia region.Among others, the delegation includes MLA Manohar Randhari, former ministers Ramesh Majhi, Jagannath Saraka and Rabinarayan Nanda, former MPs Jhina Hikaka and Pradeep Majhi, former MLAs Prabhu Jani, Manas Madkami, Raghuram Padal, Praful Pangi and Pritam Padhiand and BJD general secretary Bhrugu Baxipatra.According to the party, the delegation will interact with residents of Kotia, visit the border villages and hold discussions with district administration officials before submitting its findings to the BJD president.The move comes amid sharp political reactions in Odisha following Andhra Pradesh’s decision to conduct panchayat elections in the disputed villages. Earlier, leader of opposition Naveen Patnaik had written to chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi, expressing concern over what he described as an assault on Odia identity and alleging the state govt had failed to adequately safeguard Odisha’s interests despite BJP govts being in power in both states. He had urged the state govt to take immediate steps to protect Odisha’s territorial interests.Revenue and disaster management minister Suresh Pujari said the decades-old Kotia dispute was not an issue for any particular political party but a matter concerning the entire state. He said the Odisha govt was fighting on political, administrative and legal fronts to safeguard the state’s interests and had already prepared a roadmap to address the issue.