Nuapada bypoll defeat: Bhupinder Singh reveals major lapses in BJD strategy

Senior BJD leader Bhupinder Singh has made a major revelations while explaining why the party lost the Nuapada by-election. 

According to Singh, the candidate selection was wrong, and the sympathy for Raju (Rajendra) Dholakia shifted towards the BJP. Although Congress had announced its candidate much earlier, BJD delayed the decision, he noted.

Due to this delay, Bhupinder said, the Dholakia family lost trust in the BJD, which eventually pushed Jay Dholakia towards the BJP. He also expressed dissatisfaction that his name was not included among the 80 leaders who were assigned responsibilities for the bypoll.

Bhupinder further stated that bringing Naveen Patnaik to Nuapada for campaigning at such a stage was unnecessary and amounted to an insult to the former Chief Minister. He asserted that there was no need to involve Naveen in the campaign.

Also Read: Jay Dholakia will carry forward his father’s dream: Mother Kalpana Dholakia

So far, there has been no official reaction from the BJD regarding Bhupinder's remarks.

"When Congress announced the name of Ghasiram Majhi as party candidate without clearance from AICC, what was the problem for BJD to announce its candidate on the day of Dholakia's (Rajendra Dholakia)'s cremation? Due to the delay in the announcement, Jay Dholakia joined the BJP as he doubted that the BJD may not make him the party candidate," said Senior BJD leader Bhupinder Singh.

"As per the allegation of the family members, nobody (from BJD) visited Rajendra Dholakia when he was getting treatment at the hospital. Even after the completion of the election, the discussion is still going on," he added.