If Rabi Nanda’s BJD ticket is rejected, would he defect to the BJP
If the BJD refuses to provide former minister Rabi Narayan Nanda a ticket to run for the Jeypore Assembly seat, there is much conjecture that he may join the BJP.
The former Jeypore MLA is reportedly considering joining the saffron party in an attempt to save his political career, since the BJP has not yet declared its candidate and the BJD has not confirmed that it would support Nanda or his wife Indira.
According to reports, Nanda and his supporters met with senior BJD officials on Saturday in Bhubaneswar, when he stated his intention to challenge the elections from Jeypore. He did not, however, get any confirmation of his candidacy. There are rumors that the governing party would choose a different candidate for the Jeypore seat.
In the meanwhile, the BJP has not chosen its nominee for the seat and is waiting on the BJD to choose its candidate. Political analysts estimate that the saffron party would recruit the senior politician to increase its chances of victory in Jeypore if Nanda is not given the BJD ticket.
The leading candidates for the BJP ticket from Jeypore are Gautam Samantaray, a member of the state executive committee, and Himanshu Mohapatra, who joined the saffron party three months ago.
According to sources, Nanda’s supporters have already encouraged him to join the BJP since Prime Minister Narendra Modi is creating a tremendous wave of support for the party in the Jeypore Assembly constituency.
But Nanda is keeping quiet and is taking a wait-and-see approach since he anticipates receiving a BJD ticket, if not for himself, then at least for his wife Indira.
Elections from Jeypore have been won by Nanda in 2000, 2004 and 2009. However, Taraprasad Bahinipati, a rival candidate for Congress, defeated him in the elections held in 2014 and 2019.
Nanda received 54,334 votes in the 2019 election, but Bahinipati received 59,785 votes to win. In the same way, Bahinipati received 65,378 votes and Nanda received 57,011 votes in 2014.
