Choudwar-Cuttack BJD MLA Prabhat Biswal on Wednesday declined to contest in the upcoming polls citing his decision as “personal”.
In a letter to BJD president Naveen Patnaik, he said he would be away from politics till the final verdict by the court on his alleged involvement in the chit fund scam comes.
However, he would remain with the party and work for it for whatever responsibility is given to him, Biswal said.
He alleged that the CBI had conspired to drag his name in the multi-crore ponzi scam. He refuted the allegation terming it as “imaginary and baseless”, adding that the CBI was used to defame him as well as his party.
Sources said Biswal followed the move of his party colleague Pravat Kumar Tripathy, who denied contesting the polls in view of his alleged involvement in the chit fund scam and recommended his son Devi Ranjan Tripathy for the party ticket for his Banki Assembly constituency.
Speculations were also rife that Prabhat Biswal is strongly lobbying for his son Souvik Biswal to be the BJD candidature for his Choudwar-Cuttack seat.
When asked about his reported proposal to Naveen Patnaik for his son to get ticket, he said, “Souvik is already active in politics. A decision will be taken by the party supremo.”
“Each Assembly seat is important for the party. The party is making a survey to field its winnable candidates. If Souvik falls under that category, let the party chief take the decision,” Biswal told media.
