Bhubaneswar: Jay Dholakia’s spectacular victory as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate in the by-election to Nuapada Assembly constituency in Odisha appeared to be the enactment of a similar event the state had witnessed around seven years ago.
The replay had begun with the induction of Jay Dholakia into the BJP a few days after the announcement of Nuapada by-election.
The by-election held in Bijepur in 2018 witnessed a drastic change in the political configuration in the constituency when sitting Congress MLA Subal Sahu’s widow Rita Sahu joined the BJD and became its candidate. The move was seen as an attempt by the then ruling party to cash in on the sympathy factor. The family of the three-time MLA from Bijepur also tried to justify the switch as the ‘last wish’ of Subal Sahu, who they claimed wanted to contest the 2019 Assembly elections from Bijepur as a BJD candidate having started his political career with the regional party.
This sudden development came as a body blow for the Congress, which had been struggling to stay relevant in state politics since losing power in 2000. In a blow to the Congress, the Assembly seat was snatched by the BJD as Rita Sahu won the bypoll.
Similarly. Jay is the son of sitting BJD MLA and former Minister Rajendra Dholakia, whose demise necessitated the bypoll, and the BJP is now the ruling party in the state. The Naveen Patnaik-led BJD, which ruled Odisha for 24 years, has also been facing internal crisis with leaders openly expressing resentment over its style of functioning since its electoral debacle in 2024 twin polls.
With Jay on its side, the BJP geared up to wrest the seat from the BJD by riding on the sympathy wave, which the Lotus party had won twice in 2000 and 2014 with former state party president Basanta Panda as its candidate.
Speculation about Jay’s political shift had started when he and his mother invited Chief Minister Mohan Majhi to attend Rajendra Dholakia’s memorial function on September 21 in Nuapada. Majhi not only accepted the invitation but also visited the Dholakia residence to offer condolences.
During Jay’s induction into the BJP, Majhi had said Jay will complete the unfinished tasks of his father, who had grand aspirations for Nuapada but was unable to realise them due to restrictions and interference from extra-constitutional authorities during his tenure in the BJD government, dropping a hint about his candidature from the seat.
Earlier, senior vice president of Debi Parsad Mishra had subtly indicated that the party would field Dholakia’s son as its candidate for Nuapada bypoll.
Though Jay’s sudden entry altered the equation in BJP, the saffron party managed to quell any possible dissent over this decision. The CM, who is said to have personally taken the initiative to bring Jay into the party fold, expressed gratitude to the former Kalahandi MP and ex-BJP state president Basanta Panda for supporting the decision.
As irony would have it, the BJD called Jay’s entry into the BJP a classic case of horse trading while accusing Jay of having sold himself to the saffron party. However, Jay and his family strongly refuted the allegation and further claimed that the BJD had ignored Rajendra Dholakia during his illness. They also accused the regional party of having shown disrespect to the late leader.
The outcome of the bypoll was considered significant for all three major political parties and their respective leaders, particularly Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi as a victory would consolidate his authority and reaffirm his government’s strength.
