ROURKELA: The rift in Sundargarh district BJP continues to widen with a section of the party alleging sabotage by a particular leader to ensure Dilip Ray’s defeat from Rourkela Assembly constituency.
Sources informed Ray’s close aides are peeved over his defeat to BJD strongman Sarada Prasad Nayak with a narrow margin of 3,552 votes. They accused a senior state leader and his supporters of sabotaging Ray’s winning prospects.
In fact, during a review meeting held under the leadership of BJP’ state secretary Ashok Mishra on Monday to analyse the party’s defeat in Rourkela, the Ray camp handed over a letter to Mishra addressed to the state president Manmohan Samal. In the letter, a copy of which is available with The New Indian Express, the Ray camp alleged the state BJP leader and his associates indulged in activities detrimental to the election campaign of the party.
Ray’s supporters claimed there were credible allegations that the leader received Rs 25 lakh from BJD and while pretending to support BJP, he and his associates actively campaigned against Ray to create confusion and mistrust among voters. The letter stated the act of betrayal weakened BJP’s position and also demoralised its dedicated workers.
The letter further said Ray’s candidature came one month before the poll and it hampered comprehensive election planning, preparation and execution. On the other hand, BJD was in election mode and used money power and the government machinery to influence the outcome of the election. However, the letter did not mention the adverse impact of rebel BJP candidate Nihar Ray.
The state BJP leader in the line of fire said he has not seen the letter yet and refused to comment. Meanwhile, Ray’s defeat has caused representational crisis in the steel city.
Panposh organisational district president of BJP Latika Patnaik refused to comment on the matter. She admitted to representational vacuum in Rourkela and said conduct of elections to Rourkela Municipal Corporation will help address the issue.