BHUBANESWAR : In the demise of Samir Dey, the Odisha BJP has lost one of the scriptwriters of its evolution from a ‘sign board’ party to the most formidable political force in the state today. As the saffron party has finally managed to ascend to power earlier this year, it cannot but remember the contribution of the ‘affable street-fighter’ in laying the foundation for its rise in Odisha.
The three-time MLA and former minister passed away while undergoing treatment at a private hospital here on Monday. He was just 67 but had virtually retreated from active politics due to health issues since the last five years. His health problems had aggravated recently after which he was hospitalised for pneumonia, kidney and cardiac ailments. He had been undergoing treatment in the ICU for more than two weeks. He leaves behind his wife and a daughter.
The passing away of Dey marks the end of an era in Odisha politics and a political career spanning more than three-and-half decades. Born to a reputed Bengali family at Punang village in Jagatsinghpur district, Dey had been active in student politics and became the president of Cuttack Christ College Students Union from ABVP in 1980. He went on to gain a degree in Law and took to legal practice while being a forefront RSS worker and BJP Yuva Morcha. He was then drafted into the BJP and in 1990 made the candidate from Cuttack Assemby constituency only to taste defeat.
This was the time when then Chief Minister Biju Patnaik had taunted the BJP as a ‘sign board’ party in the state. But the tables turned in just the next election in 1995 when Dey pulled off a stunning upset defeating the Janata Dal stalwart and health minister Mustiafiz Ahmed from the seat. This was the outcome of the relentless street agitations launched by Dey against the then JD government and his people’s connect.
“Dey joined active politics by getting a party nomination from Cuttack city in 1990 when we had won just three seats in Bonai, Junagarh and Malkangiri. No one in their wildest imagination had thought that BJP will win the prestigious seat in the cultural capital of Odisha in the next elections. This laid the stepping stone for the rise of BJP in Odisha and Dey had a major hand in it,” senior party leader and former state unit president Samir Mohanty said.
Party leaders, workers, cadres and even the rivals acknowledge Dey’s amiable personality and an unwavering commitment for the poor and marginalised sections, particularly slum dwellers of Cuttack city. “Dey had a very unique quality of endearing even his rivals. He worked diligently in all the slums of the city and was always a call away when someone needed him. Besides, his association with Puja committees and peace committees made him popular in all households,” senior high court advocate and Sangh Parivar member Anup Bose said.
With the BJD-BJP alliance in power from 2000-2009, Dey was a high profile member of the Naveen Patnaik cabinet handling Housing and Urban Development and Higher Education departments in successive terms. As Urban minister, he initiated many reforms and infrastructure upgradation projects. His contribution to higher education sector was equally stellar.
