Bhubaneswar: Following the BJP’s significant win in the Nuapada by-election, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi increased his criticism of BJD president Naveen Patnaik on Saturday. He questioned how the selection of the late BJD MLA’s son as the BJP candidate could be labeled as ‘treachery.’ Majhi made this statement during the grand welcome of Jay Dholakia, who won the by-election with a remarkable margin of 83,748 votes. ‘How is making late Nuapada’s BJD MLA Rajendra Dholakia’s son the BJP’s by-election candidate termed treachery?’ Majhi, who led the campaign, asked. For the second day in a row, he condemned Patnaik for using the term ‘beiman’ (traitor) in reference to the BJP and the Dholakia family.
During a campaign stop at Komna in Nuapada on November 3, Patnaik had accused the BJP of ‘candidate chori’ and specifically labeled Jay Dholakia’s last-minute party switch as ‘beimani.’ ‘I saw pain and anger in your eyes. You know how betrayal was done to you, to BJD, and to me,’ Patnaik had remarked. Majhi asserted that the people of Nuapada had given a ‘befitting reply’ to Patnaik’s label of Jay Dholakia as a ‘traitor’ and questioned whether switching parties qualifies as treachery. He referenced past instances where leaders from various parties had joined the BJD under Patnaik’s leadership before elections.
Majhi accused BJD leaders of failing to support Rajendra Dholakia during his illness and claimed they did not allow him to meet former chief minister Naveen Patnaik. He also alleged that Patnaik neither attended Rajendra Dholakia’s funeral nor his memorial meeting. The Odisha BJP held a meeting on Saturday, where Jay Dholakia received a grand welcome from senior leaders, including Majhi and State BJP president Manmohan Samal. ‘Jay will become the pilot of Nuapada’s development,’ the Chief Minister stated, noting that projects worth Rs 1,101 crore have already been announced. ‘The people of Nuapada were neglected for 24 years. Now that the government has changed, development of this region will occur,’ he added.
In his remarks, Jay Dholakia emphasized, ‘This victory is not mine alone. It belongs to the people of Nuapada. The people of Nuapada have given a fitting response to the BJD’s ‘beimani’ label against the Dholakia family.’ BJD leader and former MP Pradeep Majhi defended Patnaik’s use of ‘beiman,’ stating that the Dholakia family had benefited significantly from the BJD. He noted that Rajendra Dholakia was elected MLA three times and served as a minister once. The party also spent money to bring back Rajendra Dholakia’s remains after his death in Chennai and organized a memorial meeting. BJD vice-president Debi Prasad Mishra previously mentioned that Jay was in contact with his father’s party shortly before joining the BJP.
‘We were surprised as he joined the BJP without any prior indication of changing his allegiance. The family joined the BJD’s padayatra on October 9, a month after Raju bhai’s death. If they were dissatisfied with the BJD, why did they participate in the party program a month after Raju bhai’s passing?’ Mishra questioned.