By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR: The so-called spin doctors and trusted lieutenants of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, read Pranab Prakash Das alias Babby Das and Minister Pratap Keshari Deb, aka ‘Sana Babu’, on Friday left with red faced after they failed to convince their Party colleague Raju Das , who revolted against the Regional outfit and filed his Nomination papers for Dhamnagar bypolls.
Look at these two photos taken one at Dhamnagar and another at Bhubaneswar, where BJD spin doctors, Pratap Deb and Babby Das were seen convincing defiant Raju Das. But finally, both Das and Deb failed, angry Raju Das sent a strong message by putting himself into the poll battle.
Not only spin doctors but also Chief Minister and BJD Boss, Naveen Patnaik 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.
