PARADIP: With the general elections knocking at the doors, Damodar Rout’s return to the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has sparked speculations about its impact on the party’s stronghold in Paradip assembly constituency.
A good five years after he was expelled from the ruling outfit, what could have led to the BJD top bosses’ change of heart? A seven-time MLA, Rout was elected five times from the Erasama assembly constituency (1977, 1980, 1990, 2000 and 2004) and twice from the newly formed Paradip seat in 2009 and 2014.
The first three stints were when he represented Janata Party, Janata (S) Charan Singh and Janata Dal. As BJD member, he won four times. However, he was expelled from the party in 2018 for alleged anti-party activities. He later switched to the BJP and contested from Erasama in 2019 only to be defeated by BJD candidate Raghunandan Das.
The same year, Rout’s son, Sambit Routray, contested from Paradip and emerged victorious against BJP candidate Sampad Swain. Five years hence, Sambit faces internal factions, new rival aspirants and rising influence of BJP on his home turf. Besides a strained relationship with people at the village and panchayat levels, and issues related to implementation of governmentsponsored projects are likely to impact Sambit’s prospects. All these factors, experts say, may have prompted the rollback of expulsion by the BJD. The 2024 battle could be tough for Sambit since he faces allegations galore including implementation of projects under MLALA D funds.
There is also a growing rift between him and Paradip municipality chairman Basant Kumar Biswal, originally a strong supporter of Rout senior. Besides trade union leaders Bapi Sarkhel, Santosh Patnaik and former bureaucrat Sangram Mohapatra are vying for the Paradip seat.
Former MLA Debasish Samantray and BJD leader Pramod Jena too are stated to be eyeing the constituency. Given these dynamics and Sambit’s dipping popularity, Rout’s return to the BJD despite his current state of hospitalization appears a political strategy to check an aggressive BJP in the region. BJP leader and former MP Bibhu Prasad Tarai said Sambit has tarnished his image in the constituency, and has a strained relationship with party workers.
“To salvage his political standing before the assembly elections, he reportedly lobbied for bringing back his father to the BJD to leverage from the veteran leader’s reputation and popularity,” Tarai claimed. BJP’s MLA candidate Sampad Swain felt Rout’s return to the BJD would not instantly impact the BJP’s stronghold in Paradip. Meanwhile, Sambit clarified that his father’s hospitalisation was due to water deposit in his lungs. “The withdrawal of my father’s expulsion from the BJD was long due. His reputation and popularity matter a lot in Paradip. The final decision on whether he would get the party ticket in the coming election rests with the party leadership,” he asserted.