Bhubaneswar: Will Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan contest the upcoming elections? This question is doing the rounds in political circles here even as BJP ticket aspirants are waiting with bated breath for the saffron party to declare its candidates for the simultaneous polls in Odisha.
Speculation is rife that Dharmendra will either enter the fray for the Dhenkanal Lok Sabha constituency or stand for the Pallahara assembly seat. He and his party are, however, tight-lipped about the possibility.
As the poster boy of state BJP and wannabe chief minister, Dharmendra ought to fight the polls and strengthen his claim and credibility. “Currently, he is a Rajya Sabha member from Madhya Pradesh (prior to that he was elected to the Upper House from Bihar). If he does not contest the polls, a message could go that he is avoiding direct polls as the BJD continues to be the strongest party in Odisha and defeat might cause a lot of harm to his political fortunes,” observed a party leader, preferring anonymity.
Dharmendra’s dilemma again could be: whether to fight the Lok Sabha or the assembly elections. As a Union minister and someone aspiring to continue in the central cabinet, he certainly has reasons to eye the Lok Sabha, whereas for someone who wishes to take on Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and reinforce his claim as a possible successor he should be aiming to get into the state legislature. “Either way, he has to make his choice clear and cannot aspire to get the best of both. If he wants to be BJP’s chief ministerial candidate, logically he should enter the state assembly,” pointed out a political analyst.
But, will he take the risk? That is the question which is perhaps perplexing Dharmendra and Co, even though Naveen has announced his own candidature from two assembly segments: Hinjili and Bijepur.
While Dharmendra for obvious reasons are keeping the cards close to his chest, a section within the saffron party believes he does not want to take the poll test although certain senior national heavyweights want him to do so. Some of Dharmendra’s close associates argue that if he contests, the BJD might succeed to confine him to the particular constituency and he cannot campaign all over the state for the party. “It makes sense for him not to contest and ensure the party wins more seats,” said a BJP leader.
Whatever the decision, Dharmendra shall have a lot of answering to do to justify himself as electioneering gain momentum in the eastern state.
