Leaders who conspired to prevent Biju Babu to become Prime Minister are today talking about Biju’s legacy: BJD

By Kalinga Voice Last updated Mar 24, 2026

Not Biju’s legacy, but cross-voting for money
They had conspired to stop Biju from becoming Chief Minister for a second time
Talking about Biju’s legacy from their mouths is like a devil reciting the Vedas

Bhubaneswar, 23/03/2026:After the victory of BJP-supported candidate Shri Dilip Ray in the Rajya Sabha elections, senior leaders of the state, Shri BijoyMohapatra and Shri PrabhatTripathy, expressed great joy. In response, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) today reminded people of these two leaders’ anti-Biju activities.

The BJD stated that in 1995, when a conspiracy was hatched to prevent Biju Patnaik from becoming Chief Minister for a second consecutive term, and in 1996 to stop him from becoming Prime Minister, these two leaders were involved.

At a press conference held at ShankhaBhavan today, BJD Chief Whip Smt. Pramila Mallik, MLA Shri Byomkesh Ray, and Shri Dhruva CharanSahu criticized Shri BijoyMohapatra and Shri PrabhatTripathy, recalling their past actions.

Shri Byomkesh Ray said that in 1995, when there was a strong wave in favour of Shri Biju Patnaik and it was almost certain he would become Chief Minister again, these two leaders fielded parallel candidates in several places, leading to an unexpected defeat. Similarly, in 1996, there was an opportunity for Biju Babu to become Prime Minister of the country, but some leaders from Odisha conspired to prevent this, including these two.

Shri Dhruva CharanSahu said that leaders who once conspired against Biju Babu are now talking about his legacy. He alleged that Shri BijoyMohapatra and Shri PrabhatTripathy were among those conspirators.He further said that Prabhat’s unruly behaviour at Naveen Niwas was a sponsored act and that votes were cast in exchange for money. He accused them of invoking Biju’s legacy only to escape public anger, adding that such statements from them are like “a devil reciting the Vedas.”

Shri Sahu also stated that statements byShri Dilip Ray andShri BijoyMohapatra clearly indicate that a conspiracy had been in place for three months to break the BJD. He alleged that those who all conspired against Biju Babu are now conspiring againstShri Naveen Patnaik. He further claimed that in the 1992 hooch tragedy case, Shri BijoyMohapatra and Shri PrabhatTripathy were primarily involved. To save themselves, Prabhat engaged in cross-voting at Bijoy’s instigation. Angered by this, Biju Babu removed Bijoyfrom the post of Chief Whip and suspended Prabhat. Prabhat was reportedly suspended twice for creating indiscipline in the party.

Smt. Pramila Mallik said that after the Rajya Sabha elections, some leaders have started speaking about Biju’s legacy. She alleged that those now invoking Biju Babu’s legacy were the same people who had conspired to prevent him from becoming Prime Minister. She further said that MLAs who engaged in cross-voting were in the BJD only to enjoy power after getting tickets. She stated that Naveen Babu took appropriate action by suspending them.She added that these leaders are now talking about Biju’s legacy only to protect themselves from public outrage. If they truly have courage, they should resign from their MLA posts and contest fresh elections. The BJD will also take legal steps to cancel their membership.