By Our Correspondent
BHADRAK/BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister and BJD Boss, Naveen Patnaik on Friday received a major jolt after one his Party man Raju Das alias Rajendra Das, , while defying order , has filed his nomination papers for the Dhamnagar bypolls slated for November 3.
Raju Das had successfully contested the Assembly Elections from the Dhamnagar constituency as a BJD candidate in 2009 by defeating Bishnu Sethi. However, he lost to Bishnu Sethi in the constituency in the 2019 Assembly Elections while contesting as a BJD nominee.
BJD has already fielded Tihidi block chairperson Abanti Das as its nominee for the bypoll, Rajendra’s move is likely to affect the party’s campaign for the election. BJP’s Suryabanshi Suraj , son of late MLA Bishnu Sethi may find it easy to gain more votes after Das filed his papers splitting the vote share of ruling BJD.
Raju Das said, he was very much confident about his victory and said “as I have the blessings of my elders and support of the public,”.
Naveen Patnaik’s spin doctors like Babby Das, Ministers Pratap Deb, Atanu Nayak and other party leaders tried their best to convince him but failed.
“My aim is to serve the people of Dhamnagar. I will not withdraw my nomination. The BJD has done injustice to me. I had lost in the 2019 polls by a narrow margin due to rival groups within the party,” Das said.
