Bhubaneswar: The opposition BJD Sunday took strong exception to the BJP-backed Independent Rajya Sabha poll candidate Dilip Ray claiming former Odisha chief minister Biju Patnaik, an iconic figure in the state, as his mentor and seeking votes from all parties.
The BJD alleged that Ray, a former Union minister, is associated with the ruling BJP, which has been destroying the legacy of Biju Patnaik, called ‘Biju Babu’ in reverence.
Ray filed the nomination paper March 5, the birth anniversary of Patnaik.
“Today, on the birth anniversary of my mentor Biju Babu, as I file my nomination for the Rajya Sabha as an Independent candidate with the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party, my heart is filled with emotion beyond words,” Ray had said in an X post.
He had also appealed to all Biju Patnaik loyalists in different parties to support him.
A total of five candidates – two each from the BJP and the BJD, and Ray – March 5 filed their nomination papers for four Rajya Sabha seats in Odisha, sparking the possibility of cross-voting as neither the ruling party nor the opposition has the required numbers to win the fourth seat.
Addressing a press conference here, BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty said, “Ray is calling Biju Babu his mentor with the aim of gaining political advantage. But he is aligned with a party that has been continuously insulting the legendary leader.”
Mohanty claimed that after the BJP formed the government in Odisha in 2024, several statues of Biju Patnaik were vandalised and some were set on fire.
“Biju Babu’s birthday used to be celebrated as Panchayati Raj Divas in Odisha. It was stopped by the BJP government. They also cancelled the holiday March 5,” alleged the leader of the opposition party, which was named after Biju Patnaik and founded by his son Naveen Patnaik.
Apart from this, the BJD leader said, the BJP government in the state changed the names of several schemes named after Biju Patnaik, while the Centre has stopped supporting the prestigious Kalinga Award established by the iconic leader.
The award is known as the UNESCO Kalinga Prize for the Popularisation of Science.
“When the BJP government repeatedly carried out planned attacks on Biju Babu’s legacy, Dilip Ray remained silent. And now he calls Biju Babu his mentor,” Mohanty said.
The Odisha government website describes Biju Patnaik as “the epitome of the Odia pride and honour, the legendary leader and architect of modern Odisha who has proved his worth as an eminent son of the soil through his novel, daring and revolutionary strides.” He died in 1997.
Mohanty said that the people of the state know that Dilip Ray, a hotelier, is more of a businessman and less of a politician. “He is interested in politics not for the welfare of the state but in the interest of his business,” Mohanty said.
As an Independent Rajya Sabha poll candidate, Ray is being backed by the BJP, which has 22 surplus first preference votes after electing the party’s two official candidates – Manmohan Samal and Sujeet Kumar.
Ray, who has the experience of winning RS polls through cross-voting in 2002, requires the support of eight more MLAs.
BJD nominees – party leader Santrupt Misra and eminent urologist Dr Datteswar Hota, whom the Congress and the CPI(M) are supporting – also filed their papers March 5.
Hota hopes to secure 18 votes from the BJD, 14 from Congress and one from the CPI(M).
Under the current strength in the 147-member Assembly, a candidate requires 30 first-preference votes to win.
Despite having fewer than the required number to win, Ray expressed confidence to win, saying, “I have friends and well-wishers in all parties. I had won the RS polls as an Independent candidate in 2002 by getting support from different parties, and now I am optimistic to get the same blessings.”
The RS elections would be held in Odisha March 16 as the tenure of Niranjan Bishi, Munna Khan (BJD), Sujeet Kumar, and Mamata Mohanty (BJP) expires April 2.