Odisha Elections: I Am Still In BJP & Party To Decide Candidature From Rourkela Soon, Says Dilip Ray

Bhubaneswar: Amid indications about his candidature from Rourkela Assembly seat in the upcoming elections, senior leader and former Union Minister Dilip Ray on Wednesday said he is still in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Soon after his arrival at Rourkela, Ray told reporters that though he had resigned in 2018 he is still a member of BJP as his resignation has not been accepted by the party.

“I am still in BJP as my resignation has not yet been accepted by the party. The party will decide my candidature within a day or two. People of Rourkela are also well prepared for the elections,” Ray said as he was accorded a rousing welcome on arrival in Rourkela after his conviction in coal scam case was stayed by the Delhi High court.

Overwhelmed over the massive gathering of supporters, he said no leader in Odisha seemed to have received such a grand welcome by the people. This is only happening in Rourkela.

“People here have already made me win even before the election. I must thank to all my sisters and brothers of Rourkela,” former Union Minister said.

Ray further said that election is not about a fight rather it is a festival of democracy. People here choose their leader who can serve them better, he said.

Notably, senior BJP leader and MP Jual Oram had on Tuesday said that the party has finalised Dilip Ray’s candidature from Rourkela Assembly seat.

While campaigning at Talasara Assembly constituency, Jual said that the saffron party will announce candidate for Rourkela seat anytime soon. “Ray has got the green light from Delhi High Court to contest the upcoming elections. His candidature from Rourkela has been finalised and will be announced once he is formally inducted into the party fold,” said the BJP MP candidate from Sundargarh.

The Delhi High Court’s stay on his conviction in a coal scam case had earlier fuelled discussions in different circles about the former Rourkela legislator reviving his political career. Seventy-year-old Ray has been in political hibernation since 2018 when he quit BJP. In 2020, he was convicted in a coal block allocation case pertaining to his tenure as Union Minister of State for Coal in 1999.

Ray vying for the Rourkela seat will raise the stakes in the high-voltage fight between ex-Union Minister Jual and hockey star Dilip Tirkey for the Sundargarh Lok Sabha seat. A three-time MLA and two-time Rajya Sabha member, he is believed to have influence over the parliamentary constituency. Being a businessman, he also has the wherewithal to gives tough time to the ruling BJD, of which he was a founder member till he fell out with Naveen Patnaik and was expelled from the regional outfit.

Ray had last won the Rourkela seat in 2014 by defeating Sarada Prasad Nayak by 10,929 votes.