BHUBANESWAR: Even before the official announcement of BJP on its candidate for Nuapada by-election, Rajya Sabha MP Sujit Kumar on Tuesday said that the party has finalised the name of Jay Dholakia, son of late BJD leader and sitting MLA Rajendra Dholakia, as its nominee.
He told mediapersons at the state party office here that Jay will file his nomination papers on October 16 in presence of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, all ministers and senior leaders of the party.
Kumar said the party will organise a massive rally before the filing of the nomination papers. More than 2,000 workers of the BJD and Congress are expected to join the BJP the same day. The party aims to secure a victory margin of over 50,000 votes, he said.
The BJP MP said that the choice of Jay over other aspirants was to gain from the goodwill of the people his father enjoyed for the developmental activities and social service he had undertaken in the constituency.
Kumar, who resigned from the BJD in September 2024 and re-elected to the Rajya Sabha on a BJP ticket, said he had worked extensively with the Rajendra Dholakia and the time had come to work with his son Jay.
He exuded confidence that the people of Nuapada will elect the junior Dholakia with a huge margin. Jay joined the BJP on October 11 in the presence of the chief minister and senior leaders.
Meanwhile, senior BJD leaders Debi Prasad Mishra and Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak, who were sent to Nuapada as party observers by Naveen Patnaik to discuss with the district leadership to find out a consensus candidate for the bypoll after Jay shifted loyalty to the BJP, have returned to Bhubaneswar. Speculations are doing rounds that the BJD is likely to field district general secretary Manoj Mishra from the seat. The Congress has already announced Ghasiram Majhi as its candidate.
