ROURKELA: As Rourkela basks in the glow of the ongoing FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023, the political grapevine is abuzz with speculation of Dilip Ray returning to the BJD amid indications of the ruling party leaders cozying up to the former union minister.
On Friday, BJD’s organisational secretary Pranab Prakash Das, Bhubaneswar (North) MLA Sushant Rout and Dharmasala legislator Pranab Balabantaray landed at Ray’s residence in Rourkela to invite him to watch India’s inaugural match against Spain at Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium.
The pre-match event was inaugurated by BJD supremo and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Ray, a former Rourkela MLA, was seated at the stadium’s VIP box with BJD ministers and legislators. Ray supporters and a section of the BJD are upbeat about his possible return to the ruling party with some even claiming that the CM had invited Ray to the match over phone.
In a social media post, Ray thanked the CM for hosting the hockey World Cup at Rourkela and also praised the central government saying, the Smart City scheme played a pivotal role in making this possible.
Reliable sources in BJD said the party is more than eager to utilise the influence of Ray in Rourkela and rest of Sundargarh district in the 2024 general elections. Notably, Ray was one of the founders of BJD.
Since quitting BJP and resigning as Rourkela MLA in November 2018, Ray continues to be without any party affiliation. In the past, he had tried several times to return to BJD, but his pending CBI case in the coal scam was an obstacle. In 2020, Ray was convicted for his alleged involvement in the coal block allocation scam during his tenure as union minister of state for coal in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government in 1999.
BJD insiders claimed that Ray may get a clean chit in the case before the 2024 polls to facilitate his return to the regional outfit. State secretary of Biju Yuva Janata Dal Prakash Paswan said the CM’s decision of bringing any leader to the party would be acceptable to all.
However, a section of the BJD cautioned that Ray’s re-entry has to be handled delicately to avoid the risk of creating rift in the party organisation where Rourkela MLA Sarada Prasad Nayak is a dominant force.