BHUBANESWAR: The resignation of senior leaders, Dilip Ray and Bijay Mohapatra, from BJP has exposed serious faultlines in the party which is trying to emerge as the alternative to the ruling BJD in 2019 elections. 

The two leaders quit the party days after Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram said Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan is the chief ministerial candidate of the party in Odisha and the party will fight 2019 elections in the State under his leadership.

Though the two leaders have not taken names in the joint resignation letter written to party president Amit Shah, their target is obvious. Ray and Mohapatra felt sidelined during the last two years and stopped attending party programmes even as a new leadership took charge of the State unit.

“Several leaders in the party here share our concern, but remain silent fearing denial of tickets. Such silence is a bad sign for any democratic party,” the two leaders said.

They mentioned the shocking defeat of the BJP in by-poll to Bijepur Assembly constituency in February, 2018 and by-elections at the panchayat levels. “This reflected the disenchantment of people in the manner the party is functioning here,” they said.

They said, “The well meaning suggestions by us to you (Shah) were construed as a threat by certain ego centric self-serving individuals who resorted to dirty tricks and launched a campaign in our constituencies to try and deride us.”

“We cannot be treated as furniture in the party while the rootless talk big and project a larger than life image,” they said and added, “Turning blind to reality does not help anyone nor does it serve any purpose. As self respecting politicians with decades of service to Odisha, we refuse to continue in party as showpieces.”

In his Facebook post, Ray alleged there is a perception among the masses that the delay in completion of second bridge over Bramhani river and upgradation of IGH in Rourkela to a super specialty hospital has to do with a tug-of-war within the BJP. “Someone very powerful is deliberately creating impediments in the execution of these projects, just to ensure that I don’t walk away with the credit for the projects,” he said.

Ray alleged that a section within the party does not want Sundargarh to become a BJP bastion and their efforts have been to ensure that the party does not perform well there as it did in 2014 polls. Out of the seven Assembly segments in Sundargarh district, Ray was the only candidate to have won from Rourkela segment while Oram was elected from the Lok Sabha seat. 

Likely to join BJD

Bhubaneswar: Dilip Ray and Bijay Mohapatra are likely to join the BJD. Though no formal announcement has been made in this regard either by regional outfit or the two leaders, sources maintained that they will join the BJD on December 26, the party’s establishment day at a public meeting here. However, Mohapatra told mediapersons that they will take a decision in this regard after the return of Ray from his foreign trip.

Sources maintained that senior leaders of the BJD including some MPs and MLAs were in touch with Mohapatra for some time now. Meanwhile, the BJD maintained that its door is open for all. Health and Family Welfare Minister Pratap Jena, when asked whether BJD will welcome Ray and Mohapatra into the party fold said, “Our door is open for all.” However, final decision in this regard will be taken by Chief Minister and party supremo Naveen Patnaik, he said.