New Delhi: In March 2002, former Biju Janata Dal chief Dilip Ray shocked many when he received as an Impartial within the Rajya Sabha polls courtesy 15 BJD and 6 Bharatiya Janata Celebration (BJP) members cross-voting for him. His victory had delivered a significant blow to then Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

Twenty-four years on, the hotelier-turned politician did it once more earlier this week, because of the Congress and BJD cross-voting.

As soon as counted among the many shut confidants of Naveen, Ray essayed a key function within the formation of the BJD in 1997. Thought-about near Naveen Patnaik’s father Biju Patnaik, BJD insiders stated Ray took care of Biju Patnaik throughout the previous couple of years of his life.

“Throughout Biju Patnaik’s sickness, he took care of him at his Delhi residence. In reality, Biju Patnaik died at his residence. He was somebody Biju Patnaik trusted loads. Throughout the state and amongst the Biju Patnaik loyalists, he’s regarded extremely,” stated a senior BJD chief.

The previous Union Minister had served two consecutive phrases within the Rajya Sabha since 1996. After the get together denied him a ticket to contest the Rajya Sabha polls in 2002, he filed his candidature as an Impartial. The BJD then expelled him after he launched a ‘take away Naveen Patnaik’ marketing campaign. However, he made a comeback with the BJP backing his RS candidature.

The founder and proprietor of the MAYFAIR Resorts & Resorts had a quick stint with the BJP too when he joined the get together in 2009 and received the Rourkela meeting seat on a BJP ticket in 2014.

On Monday, he thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union House Minister Amit Shah, BJP president Nitin Nabin, Odisha Chief Minister Charan Majhi and others for his or her ‘assist and confidence’.

“Deeply humbled and grateful. At the moment’s victory within the Rajya Sabha election from Odisha shouldn’t be mine alone — it displays the belief and goodwill proven by Hon’ble Members of the Legislative Meeting throughout political traces. I sincerely thank the Hon’ble Members of the Bharatiya Janata Celebration for his or her steadfast assist. I’m equally grateful to the MLAs from the BJD, Congress, and the Independents who selected to increase their assist,” he wrote on X.

Deeply humbled and grateful.

At the moment’s victory within the Rajya Sabha election from Odisha shouldn’t be mine alone — it displays the belief and goodwill proven by Hon’ble Members of the Legislative Meeting throughout political traces.

I sincerely thank the Hon’ble Members of the Bharatiya Janata…

— Dilip ray (@DilipRayOdisha) March 16, 2026

Whereas cross-voting from the ruling BJD helped the previous Union Minister within the Atal Bihari Vajpayee authorities get re-elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2002, the assistance got here from the Congress and the BJD this time.

In 2002, the Congress fielded Maurice Kujur, who ultimately misplaced. Media studies on the time termed Ray’s victory a ‘huge blow to Naveen Patnaik,’ who they stated did every part potential to stall his candidature.

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Additionally Learn: ‘Traitors’: Congress expels 3 Odisha MLAs for ‘cross-voting’ in Rajya Sabha polls 

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The prepare trip

“When Naveen began to consolidate his place as BJD chief, he started to remove his potential rivals, and shortly the axe fell on Dilip. Naveen obtained Vajpayee to drop him from the Union ministry. He managed to change into an Impartial Rajya Sabha member in 2002 because of some cross-voting,” stated senior journalist Ruben Banerjee, who penned the e book, ‘Naveen Patnaik’.

Beginning his political profession in 1985 as chairman of the then Rourkela Notified Council, Ray was elected MLA from Rourkela in 1985. He was re-elected in 1990 and likewise served as Industries Minister within the Biju Patnaik-led Janata Dal authorities between 1990 and 1995.

He then confronted a setback when a CBI courtroom convicted him in October, 2020, in a 1999 coal block allocation case when he was Minister of State for Coal within the Vajpayee authorities. He was handed three-year imprisonment, however the Delhi Excessive Courtroom suspended his conviction in April 2024.

“In reality, I keep in mind he was put beneath surveillance by Naveen Patnaik forward of the Rajya Sabha voting. He took a prepare from Bhubaneswar to Delhi, and the cops had been maintaining a tally of him. Quickly after he boarded and the prepare departed, the police additionally left. The cops by no means thought that Dilip would pull a quick one on them—on the subsequent station Cuttack, he obtained down from the railway monitor aspect and surreptitiously returned to Bhubaneshwar to handle the RS numbers,” Banerjee recounted.

“The 2026 Rajya Sabha elections are like a déjà vu second. Aside from being a moneyed man and a profitable hotelier, he additionally has a excessive standing in Odisha due to what he did for Biju Patnaik, particularly throughout his final days. He’s in any other case a low-key particular person, speaks little or no and nobody actually is aware of what he’s as much as.”

Within the coal allocation case, the CBI initially carried out a preliminary enquiry concerning the allocation of 105.153 hectares of non-nationalised, deserted coal mining space in Jharkhand’s Giridih district.

Later, it charged Ray and 5 different accused beneath Part 120-B (prison conspiracy) and Part 420 (dishonest) of the erstwhile Indian Penal Code, and the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Ray had moved the Delhi Excessive Courtroom in 2024 looking for suspension of the conviction on the grounds of his willingness to contest the Odisha elections in 2024. His attraction in opposition to the conviction continues to be pending.

He instructed the courtroom that he would “undergo irreversible and irreparable loss” in case of continued conviction. To make certain, a sentencing of two years or extra bars an individual from contesting elections at any degree.

Although the sentence was suspended in April 2024, Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma noticed that the order wouldn’t quantity to “acquittal” and was restricted to “merely a suspension of conviction” due to “peculiar circumstances of the case, together with the lengthy political profession of the accused and his age”.

S.N.Sahu, who served as Officer on Particular Responsibility and Press Secretary to former President Okay.R.Narayanan, stated there’s huge dissatisfaction in opposition to the BJP regime in Odisha, and, due to this fact, they need to create a public narrative by making certain that the BJD’s candidate is defeated to point out how Patnaik’s reputation is declining.

“Bhakta Charan Das, the Congress state chief, sought a gathering with Naveen Patnaik to debate the widespread candidate even earlier than the dates had been introduced. However Patnaik didn’t give him time, and Das requested him once more to present him time inside every week, however the timeframe was over. He (Naveen Patnaik) unilaterally declared a health care provider (Datteswar Hota) because the fourth widespread candidate. Then, he requested the Congress and the BJP to vote for him. It felt like an imposition by the BJD,” Sahu added.

“Dilip Ray was convicted within the coal rip-off, and his conviction has been suspended. It was anticipated that he could not get the Congress assist. Ray’s comeback is a lift for his political profession in addition to to the BJP as a result of it desires to show some extent that Patnaik won’t succeed within the face of BJP’s election methods. They need to show some extent that Patnaik could also be fashionable and other people could admire, respect, and adore him, however he can’t match its methods.”

There’s huge dissatisfaction in opposition to the BJP regime, the previous civil servant stated, including that it desires to create some form of a scenario and narrative by making certain that BJD’s candidate is defeated and that Patnaik’s reputation is declining.

“Naveen Patnaik continues to be fashionable among the many individuals, and these sorts of methods being adopted by the BJP and the federal government haven’t prompted any erosion of his picture,” Sahu defined.

(Edited by Tony Rai)

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