BHUBANESWAR: A week back, the BJD’s win in Dhamnagar by-poll was a foregone conclusion. The ruling party was set to repeat its winning performance in another by-poll. Now, the tide seems to have turned and BJD no more enjoys the advantage.
The choice of party candidate is being blamed for the dramatic reversal of fortune. This, many say, is the making of BJD’s leaders in charge of the election. But who really queered the pitch for the party?
Former Dhamnagar MLA Rajendra Das was the first choice of local BJD. He had won in 2009 but in 2019, lost by only 4,625 votes to late BJP MLA Bishnu Charan Sethi. Despite his defeat, Rajendra successfully led the party to a resounding victory in the panchayat elections. It was only natural that party workers were dismayed when BJD chose Abanti Das over him as its candidate.
BJD insiders point out that Chandabali MLA Byomakesh Ray was opposed to the idea of fielding Rajendra as the party candidate in Dhamnagar. Organisation secretary of BJD and Jajpur MLA Pranab Prakash Das reportedly tried to convince Ray but the latter remained hardheaded. Now with Rajendra entering the fray as an Independent, the party has virtually been divided into two groups. A major faction of BJD workers is displeased with the way things were managed during candidate selection.
If dissidence of party workers was not enough, the possibility of division of Muslim votes due to Rajendra has become a major headache for the BJD. There are nearly 20,000 Muslim voters in Dhamnagar Assembly constituency, majority of whom support BJD. Rajendra is likely to eat into this vote bank as he has worked for the minority community during his tenure as BJD MLA as well as a party leader. Sources said Bhadrak municipality chairperson Gulmaki Dalawzi Habib, who won as an Independent in the ULB polls held earlier this year by defeating the BJD candidate, is likely to throw her weight behind Rajendra.
Another worry for BJD is the Independent candidate’s influence in Tihidi block which is his home turf. There are a total of 44 gram panchayats (GPs) in Dhamnagar and Tihidi blocks. Of the 13 GPs in Tihidi, Rajendra reportedly enjoys the support of sarpanchs and samiti members.
“Young BJD workers are toeing the party line and working to ensure victory of Abanti. However, senior BJD workers are in favour of Rajendra. We have already informed the party’s poll observers about the situation,” said a youth BJD worker of Tihidi.
In Dhamnagar block and NAC, the situation is almost similar. Under the party whip, elected PRI members and councilors of BJD are expressing their support for Abanti. But deep within, they feel Rajendra was wronged and sympathise with him. If Rajendra manages to pocket around 20,000 votes, many believe, BJD might taste defeat in the by-election.
Poll observers blame BJD MLAs of Bhadrak for the crisis. “Instead of strengthening Brand Naveen, they are busy nurturing their own political aspirations. Due to the power struggle among local MLAs, the BJP is likely to benefit,” said a senior BJD leader of Bhadrak on condition of anonymity.
However, general secretary of Bhadrak BJD and former chairperson of Dhamnagar block Ashok Nayak said the ‘Independent candidate’ will have no bearing on BJD’s prospects. “Our candidate will win with a comfortable margin,” he added.
Rajendra squarely blamed Chandabali MLA Ray for the current state of affairs. “Last year, the Chandabali MLA formed a committee to look after party affairs in Dhamnagar when he had no business to do so. I and my representatives were not included in the committee. For over a year, I was excluded from all party programmes. To humiliate me, Ray and his coterie chose one of my aide as the candidate,” he claimed.