Time seems not far for Bijay Mohapatra to be out of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The question is whether he would quit the party on his own or would be shown the door.
Mohapatra, who has been at loggerheads with the State party leadership, particularly Dharmendra Pradhan, on Saturday told media that he does not know who runs the State organisation or who takes decisions about party affairs.
He mocked at the leadership’s act of organising the recent visit of party national president Amit Shah to the State when asked by reporters as to why he did not participate in the programmes.
“I am perhaps a person with no worth of mine to be invited to the programmes (of Shah),” he remarked obviously as a dig at the State leaders’ judgement of his experience and competence.
Mohapatra even indirectly questioned Shah’s claim of the BJP capturing 120 sets in the State Assembly in the 2019 elections. He said he does not know on what basis the assertion has been made.
Reacting to Mohapatra’s statements, BJP State general secretary Prithwiraj Harichandan threw up sufficient hints that the dissident leader’s days in the party are numbered.
Harichandan said Mohapatra’s remarks are against the party’s interests. BJP State president Basanta Panda has already intimated about Mohapatra’s utterances and activities to the party high command recently, he pointed out.
In fact, Mohapatra is known to be against Dharmendra Pradhan’s growing influence on the State party with a widespread impression that the Union Minister is being projected as the party’s Chief Ministerial face by the party high command.Pradhan has so far restrained from reacting to Mohapatra’s periodical statements critical of the leadership though he would perhaps be apprising the central leadership about it. As observed, Mohapatra is ploughing a lonely furrow in the party and wants to be in another outfit though it is believed that party Rourkela MlA Dilip Ray is with him. But knowing Ray’s background, he is unlikely to take a drastic step that would lead to his being out of the party. Of late, he has been praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the latter’s decisions like the GST and making salt tax-free.