New Delhi/Bhubaneswar: Hours after tendering his resignation, Rajya Sabha member Debashish Samantaray came down heavily on Naveen Patnaik’s close aide, VK Pandian, for keeping him away from the BJD president.
Samantaray accused the former bureaucrat of sidelining loyalists and controlling access to Naveen. “I was the first to revolt and go to the media. I tried to tell Naveen Babu that all is not well in the party — it has been taken over. Someone who is not even a Biju loyalist has brought in outsiders who know nothing about politics. Who is Santrupt Misra? Who is Ashok Parija? Are they political entities at all? Do they know how to serve the people? One was a corporate honcho, the other a senior advocate in the Supreme Court,” he told the media.
The senior leader alleged that grassroots workers of BJD were destroyed. “Literally destroyed.. numerous workers knew that the reason for our defeat was VK Pandian,” he said.
Samantaray further alleged that he had been unable to meet the party supremo for nearly a year to discuss organisational matters due to Pandian’s interference.
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He lashed out at the former bureaucrat and the coterie around him over the Biju-Naveen Trust, officially known as the Biju-Naveen Inspirational Foundation (BNIF). “Naveen Babu told the media that Pandian is not his heir apparent, but still he was made the president of the trust and gifted the property of Biju Patnaik at Aurangzeb Road. You gave away sentiments connected to Biju babu to people I doubt had ever met him in his lifetime,” he said, adding that he had opposed this from the very beginning.
“The BJD was founded to fulfil the dreams and vision of Biju Patnaik. Several dedicated individuals joined as founding members, and our journey began in association with Atalji. It was through this alliance that Naveen Patnaik emerged as a leader of the party. After 25 years of serving Odisha, Naveen Patnaik’s tenure was free of any major allegations of poor governance. Even as I leave the party, I will never say that his government was a bad one. Yet, despite this strong record, he lost the election. There was only one reason for that defeat: V K Pandian. He removed the picture of the legendary Biju Patnaik from all campaign posters during the 2024 elections and replaced it with his own. It was simply atrocious. I had even raised the matter with Naveen Babu, but he did not agree with me. He felt Pandian had done a lot for the state. However, as an IAS officer, Pandian’s job was to serve the government, not to run it,” he asserted.
The two-time BJD MLA from Cuttack-Barabati also spoke about the flip-flop during the voting on Waqf Bill in Rajya Sabha during which he abstained opposing the sudden change in the party’s position. “My betraying the opposition at the last moment, the BJD lost its face in Delhi political circles,” he said.
Speaking candidly about his decision to join the BJP, Samantaray emphasised that the saffron party will provide him with the best platform to serve the people. “In that case, let me be a little blunt. The biggest opportunity for a politician… from the point of view of being with the people who have faith in me, BJP will give me the best option,” he said.
He dismissed any notion of unease in aligning with the BJP, pointing to the party’s past alliance with BJD. “We were with BJP for two terms. Our government of Naveen Babu, we were with BJP. So, there’s nothing untouchability about it,” Samantaray added.
After Mamata Mahanta and Sujeet Kumar, Samantaray is the third Rajya Sabha member from BJD to switch sides to BJP. With his resignation, BJD’s strength in Rajya Sabha has come down to five. He is also likely to be renominated to the Upper House on a BJP ticket as was the case with Mamata and Sujeet.
Meanwhile, the BJD has hit back sharply, with leaders alleging that Samantaray’s decision was driven by personal and business interests rather than ideology. “He won three Assembly elections and lost two. He also served as Chairman of OTDC and as Cuttack district president. After his latest Assembly defeat, Naveen Babu nominated him to the Rajya Sabha in 2024. However, despite the party reposing faith in him and giving him several key positions, he quit the BJD, accusing it of sidelining him,” said BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty.
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