It is a general perception that Bijay Mohapatra is an influential leader in the State politics. But when the series of developments, including his “homecoming” to the BJP on Thursday, are considered, it looks that the erstwhile Biju aide is not going to fetch much benefit to the saffron party in the upcoming elections.
Conscious voters are still to understand Mohapatra’s earlier-predicted contention of an “an unprecedented poll fight the State will see in 2019” and his role in it.
“I returned to the BJP with a new resolution. Let us forget the past (the party’s negligence towards him),” said Mohapatra soon after holding talks with BJP national general secretary in Odisha charge Arun Singh and national vice-president Baijayant Panda and rejoining the party in his house here.
Is the phrase ‘with a new resolution’ appropriate answer to his prediction of an unprecedented poll-fight the State is going to witness?
Recently after sending his resignation letter along with that of Dilip Ray to BJP national president Amit Shah in November 2018, he had said. “Dilip Ray has gone abroad and on his return, our next course of action will be informed to media in 15 days.”
Following this, speculations were rife that Mohapatra and Ray would probably join the BJD. This impression was strengthened when Ray recently visited the Naveen Niwas when BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik was busy selecting party candidates for Assembly and Lok Sabha seats.
It was speculated that Ray talked to Patnaik for entry of both his and Mohapatra to the BJD.
However, Patnaik was reluctant to take Mohapatra into the BJD because of the latter’s known practice of forming groups in a party he belongs to. In fact, BJP State vice-president Sameer Mohanty had also accused Mohapatra of being a leader scheming factions in the party when Mohapatra became increasingly vocal in criticising the BJP State leadership. Even Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had castigated Mohapatra for breaching party discipline by publicly questioning the functioning of the party.
Now, Mohapatra’s rejoining the BJP shows his as well as the party’s helplessness in the coming elections, particularly in his native Kendrapada district. With no other way out for him, Mohapatra had to embrace the BJP again and the party reaccepted him hoping to get an Assembly seat in the district and help Baijayant Panda in his effort to win the Kendrapada Lok Sabha seat this time as a BJP candidate.