By Our Political Affairs Bureau
BHUBANESWAR: War Horse helpless! Woh! 45 years long MLA career including 22 years as Minister in late former Chief Ministers Nilamani Routray, Biju Patnaik and incumbent Naveen Patnaik’s Cabinet but now he is helpless when his age touching above 70.
One of the most leading face in anti-Congress politics in Odisha, Damodar Rout , a stalwart from undivided Cuttack, now focused on Jagatsinghpur, his native, is seems helpless after he switched to BJP before the last Lok Sabha and Assembly polls early this year.
Even though Dama lost the Erasama-Balikuda seat to BJD’s Raghunandan Das, now I& PR Minister in Naveen Patnaik’s Cabinet, his son Sambit Routray won the Paradip seat as BJD nominee.
With his name not figured in BJP’s star campaigner list for Battle Bijepur, Dama vent his anger in public and hinted that his honeymoon with Saffron Establishments were over and marriage may continue for some time now.
The veteran leader alleged that he was ignored by the party leadership both in Bhubaneswar and New Delhi.
“Before elections, they (BJP) invited me and engaged in campaigning and also made me campaign committee head. After polls, where BJP failed to reach the required numbers, do not give importance to me,” Rout said.
Rout will take a decision soon on whether to continue in BJP or return to his original BJD from where he was expelled in September last year.
