Bhubaneswar: Opposition BJD Thursday alleged that a “new trend of luring and trapping leaders” has emerged in Indian politics after its Rajya Sabha MP Debashish Samantaray resigned from the Upper House and joined the BJP.
BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty, addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here, said Samantaray joined the BJP after being “influenced by inducements”.
“For the last few years, there has been a trend in the country of luring and being lured. In that sequence, Samantaray, influenced by the inducements of the BJP, joined the party to fulfil his personal interests,” Mohanty claimed.
He alleged that Samantaray had “enjoyed all kinds of benefits” during the BJD’s tenure in government and expanded his family business empire, but was now criticising the party after its move to the Opposition.
Reacting to Samantaray’s allegations that he was forced to resign from the BJD and felt “suffocated”, Mohanty said the claims were politically motivated.
“I was sidelined and denied access to BJD president Naveen Patnaik as part of a conspiracy. Though Naveen Babu, during the 2024 elections, had clarified that VK Pandian was not his political successor, the former bureaucrat has been controlling access to the BJD leadership even now,” Samantaray alleged.
Samantaray, who was first elected to the Odisha Assembly from Tirtol in 2000, said, “I am happy to be back in the NDA fold where I had begun my political career over 26 years ago. There was a BJD-BJP alliance in the state when I was first elected to the Assembly.”
He, however, described Patnaik as his “political guru”.
“We have respect for each other, but a group surrounding Patnaik does not allow us to meet the BJD supremo. I failed to understand the kind of conspiracy that had been hatched,” he said.
He also raised questions over Naveen Niwas, the residence of BJD supremo. “Naveen Niwas belongs to Naveen Patnaik. Who controlled it that I was not even allowed entry?” he asked, alleging that individuals who “did not even know Biju Patnaik” had formed the Biju-Naveen Inspiration Foundation.
“The manner in which the BJD is being run now will be finished very soon. There is ‘no mother or father figure’ left in the Biju Janata Dal,” Samantaray said.
Mohanty claimed there was a rift between two influential groups within the BJP in the state.
“A Union minister who is being sidelined in the party over certain national issues poached Samantaray from the BJD. This apart, Debashis Babu was also running after him and now, due to the emerging situation, the Union minister has taken him into the party to give the impression that he is a major factor in Odisha politics,” Mohanty said.
Asked about Samantaray’s remarks on the BJD leadership, Mohanty said, “While the entire world respects Patnaik, it is extremely laughable that Debashish, who took maximum benefit from him, is making comments against such leadership. He should refrain from making such comments.”
Since the BJD’s defeat in the 2024 elections, three Rajya Sabha MPs have resigned from the regional outfit and joined the BJP, returning again as MPs. They are Sujeet Kumar, Mamata Mohanta and now Samantaray.