- Bijoy’s statement proves the conspiracy against BJD
- They are invoking Biju’s legacy to escape public anger
- When Biju Babu’s dignity and honour were being attacked, they remained silent
Bhubaneswar, 23/03/2026:The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has alleged that the BJP supported Shri Dilip Ray, who had been convicted in a coal block allocation caseand fielded him as an independent candidate to enable horse-trading in the Rajya Sabha elections. The BJD stated that due to such horse-trading in the election, Odisha has been disgraced and embarrassed, and the conspiracy against BJD has also come to light.
At a press conference held at ShankhaBhavan on Sunday evening, party Spokesperson and Media Coordinator Dr. Lenin Mohanty said that two months ago, two BJD MLAs, Shri Arvind Mohapatra and Shri SanatanMahakudwere suspended. Various questions had been raised in the media regarding the reasons for their suspension. Now, based on the statement of Shri BijoyMohapatra that a blueprint had been prepared three months in advance to ensure Dilip’s victory, it has become clear that there was a conspiracy against BJD. Therefore, Bijoy’s statement also justifies the suspension of the two MLAs by the party.
Dr. Mohanty further said that after winning the Rajya Sabha election through horse-trading using black money of a person convicted by a court, some politically irrelevant leaders in the state have become overjoyed. Though being a member of the BJP, ShriDilip Ray contested as an independent candidate with BJP’s support, which facilitated this horse-trading. After his candidature was announced, BJD had already warned that horse-trading would take place in the election. Now, after the results, it has become clear that such practices did occur.
He added that while the state has been disgraced and embarrassed due to this horse-trading, the MLAs who engaged in cross-voting are facing public anger in their constituencies. To escape this outrage, some MLAs are now talking about Biju’s legacy. However, it raises the question that ever since the BJP came to power, there have been repeated, allegedly sponsored attacks on the dignity and legacy of Biju Babu and his statues have been vandalized or burned in places, schemes named after him have been renamed, and Panchayati Raj Day celebrated on his birth anniversary has been discontinued.
Despite all this, those leaders who now speak about Biju’s legacy remained silent at the time. According to BJD, they are invoking Biju’s legacy now only to cover up their own wrongdoings. Therefore, the party will take appropriate legal action to cancel the membership of the MLAs involved in cross-voting.
