The long-standing territorial and electoral dispute between Odisha and Andhra Pradesh over the Kotia border cluster has flared up again following a war of words between ministers.
The tension escalated after local residents strongly opposed an Andhra Pradesh polling party, forcing officials to retreat. Andhra Tribal Welfare Minister Gummadi Sandhyarani accused Odisha of terrorizing tribal residents across 29 villages, pressuring them to boycott polls, detaining locals, and violating democratic rights in defiance of Supreme Court status quo directives.
Refuting the claims, Odisha Revenue Minister Suresh Pujari issued a sharp retort, stating that Andhra’s "electoral farce" will not succeed. Asserting united political backing in Odisha, Pujari highlighted that the state has developed all essential infrastructure—such as roads and schools—while local representatives actively serve the area with zero Andhra administrative presence. He added that a contempt of court case has been filed against violating officials, with the matter being escalated to the Central Government.
The recent confrontation has once again brought the contentious border dispute to the forefront of inter-state relations.