BJD's former warhorses Bijay Mohapatra, Dilip Ray may rejoin the party

In first assembly election after formation of BJD, Mohapatra was denied ticket to contest from Patkura. Ray was dropped as steel minister from Vajpayee govt, in which the BJD was a coalition partner

As the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) prepares to celebrate its 21st foundation day on December 26, speculation is rife that two of its erstwhile stalwarts, Bijay Mohapatra and Dilip Ray, who played pivotal roles in founding the BJD in 1997, might rejoin the party, from which they were once thrown out. 

Both the leaders recently quit the BJP after being sidelined there for the past couple of years.

Mohapatra was virtually number two in the Biju Patnaik-led Janata Dal government in the state in 1990-95, during which Ray too was minister. After the death of the senior Patnaik, both Mohapatra and Ray were instrumental in bringing Naveen Patnaik (Biju’s younger son and Odisha chief minister for the past 18 years) into politics and played crucial roles in the formation of the BJD to cash in on the goodwill of his legendary father.

But soon after, both fell victim to political manoeuvres of a section in the BJD, which perceived them to be a threat to Naveen’s leadership. In the first assembly election after the formation of the BJD in 2000, Mohapatra was denied the party ticket to contest from his home constituency, Patkura, in coastal Odisha while Ray was dropped as steel minister from the Vajpayee government, in which the BJD was a coalition partner, purportedly at the behest of Patnaik.

Mohapatra moved on to establish another regional outfit, Odisha Gana Parishad, and then merged it with the NCP before joining the BJP in 2009. Ray too joined the BJP and their entry gave a boost to the fledgling party in the state, which did not have big names till then.

Though Ray, a hotelier, stayed away from the hurly-burly of politics despite being a member of the assembly, Mohapatra, known as a political strategist, gave a fillip to the BJP as an opposition entity with his incisive attacks on the Naveen government over its various acts of omission and commission. However, his role in the party has been marginalised over the past three years following the ascent of Dharmendra Pradhan as petroleum minister at the Centre and his taking a grip on the party in the state. So much so that he (Mohapatra) is not seen in any important party function and the photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi not accepting a welcome bouquet from him during his visit to the state for the BJP national executive meet depicted his predicament. Also his public statements on the CBI probe into the chit fund scam, recruitment of locals in Indian Oil’s Paradip refinery, the Mahanadi water dispute with Chhattisgarh had further isolated him within the party.
 

“My decision to join the BJP was wrong. I was feeling suffocated in the party,” Mohapatra told newsmen on his resignation from the party. Ray has attributed his resignation to the inordinate delay in constructing a bridge and upgrade of the hospital facility as promised by Modi in a rally in his home constituency, Rourkela, in 2015. 

“I have not decided on the next move. You will know it soon,” Mohapatra said.

But the grapevine has it that both might rejoin the BJD. Talks on this have been in the air for long. But the question mark hung over their re-induction considering the threat perception to Naveen’s leadership, particularly from a senior leader like Mohapatra. “The issue has been resolved,” said a senior BJD leader. Mohapatra has been in the political wilderness for long (he has lost three successive assembly elections). So he is more keen on political rehabilitation rather than eyeing pole position in the party, he said.

Moreover, with the BJD facing anti-incumbency issues, the inclusion of two senior leaders from the BJP will not only bolster its image, it will expose the chinks in the saffron brigade in the state.

As the speculation goes, Mohapatra might be asked to contest the Kendrapara Lok Sabha seat in his home district to counter Baijayant Panda, who represented the seat till recently before quitting the BJD. While Ray has announced he won’t contest from Rourkela, it is expected that he may get a Rajya Sabha nomination.

The BJP dismisses any political repercussion arising out of the exit of Mohapatra and Ray. “They were not involved in organisational matters. Mohapatra is known to form coteries whichever party he was in. That is not the culture in the BJP and so he was feeling uncomfortable,” said a party spokesperson.