Dhamnagar bypoll: BJD sets over 30k winning margin amid rebel threat

BHUBANESWAR: As the Dhamnagar bypoll has brought to the fore failure of the BJD managers who could not persuade rebel candidate Rajendra Das to withdraw his nomination papers, the ruling party has set target of over 30,000 winning margin from the constituency.

The target for victory margin has been set taking into account the results of the urban local body elections held in February and March respectively. The lead of BJD nominees and candidates supported by the party was around 28,000 votes in the panchayat election. The party had also registered a lead of 1,000 votes in election to the Dhamnagar notified area council. Similarly, the party supported candidates had won from 35 wards out of 44 rural wards in the constituency.

Sources in the ruling party said even though the party candidate had narrowly lost the 2019 Assembly election by a margin of less than 5,000 votes to the BJP candidate, the BJD had made it up in the panchayat and ULB elections.

However, the rebel factor and the BJD’s failure to contain it have now come in between the victory margin of the party. A senior leader said there is no doubt about BJD candidate winning the bypoll, but the impact of Rajendra’s candidature has not become clear yet. It will be clear in the next week.

Sources said that the party will make a fresh assessment of the position of different candidates after the campaign by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. The CM is expected to campaign in the constituency after Diwali. Union Ministers and other key BJP leaders are also expected to campaign for the party candidate after the festival.

The focus of BJD will be to minimise the impact of the rebel candidate by persuading the workers who have crossed over. Now that Rajendra has been expelled from the BJD, it will be considered anti-party activity if any leader or senior functionary campaigns for him openly, the senior leader added.