BHUBANESWAR: Former minister and senior leader Damodar Rout on Saturday described Chief Minister and BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik as invincible after the party candidate Rita Sahu’s victory in by-election to Bijepur Assembly seat with a record margin 97,990 votes, fuelling speculations about his return to the regional outfit.
Rout was expelled from the BJD on September 22, 2018 for anti-party activities after he put the BJD in embarrassing situation by raising questions on a series of scams. Rout had subsequently joined the BJP and contested the 2019 Assembly polls from Balikuda-Ersama Assembly constituency unsuccessfully. The former minister quit BJP on October 16 alleging that he has been sidelined in the party.
Talking about the Bijepur by-poll result, the former minister said it has given clear message that people of Odisha prefer regional party over any national party. “It has been proved beyond doubt that BJD president Naveen Patnaik is invincible and the most favourite leader of people of Odisha,” he said.
However, the senior leader was not forthright on whether he is willing to rejoin the BJD. “I have worked with Biju Babu who brought me to politics. I did not quit BJD, the party expelled me,” he said.
Referring to his attack on BJD supremo before the Assembly elections, the former minister said he had never said anything against any BJD leader. “I spoke against corruption and not against any leader,” he said. After Rout was expelled from the BJD, he tried to form an anti-Naveen platform and floated a new political outfit the Biju Samatakranti Dal. However, it did not take off as no other political leader joined the party.