In a major setback for Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Jay Dholakia, who was the regional party’s prospective candidate for the Nuapada assembly bypoll, joined the ruling BJP in Odisha on Saturday.
He is the son of Rajendra Dholakia, the BJD MLA whose death necessitated the by-election in the seat.
Last week, Jay had claimed that he had received the “green signal” from Patnaik to contest the Nuapada assembly bypoll, scheduled on November 11, as the BJD candidate.
What was more embarrassing for the BJD was Jay’s absence from the ‘Jan Sampark Padyatra’ in Nuapada, an event the party had organized to present him as their potential candidate, which left senior party leaders waiting for several hours.
Instead of attending the BJP event, he appeared at the state BJP headquarters in Bhubaneswar, where his formal entry into the party was broadcast live by TV channels.
He was welcomed into the BJP by the state’s top leadership, including Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Deputy CM KV Singh Deo, and the party’s Odisha chief Manmohan Samal.
Welcoming him to the saffron party, the Chief Minister stated, “Jay will complete his father’s incomplete works in Nuapada. He decided to join the BJP after witnessing the development works happening in the state.”
On joining the BJP, Jay said he joined the national party to ensure better development of Nuapada.
“My father had the dream of making Nuapada the number one district of Odisha. In order to fulfil my father’s dream, I joined the BJP,” he told reporters.
ମାନନୀୟ ମୁଖ୍ୟମନ୍ତ୍ରୀ ଶ୍ରୀ ମୋହନ ଚରଣ ମାଝୀଙ୍କ ଉପସ୍ଥିତରେ ନୂଆପଡ଼ାର ପୂର୍ବତନ ବିଜେଡି ବିଧାୟକ ସ୍ଵର୍ଗତଃ ରାଜେନ୍ଦ୍ର ଢୋଲକିଆଙ୍କ ପୁଅ ଜୟ ଢୋଲକିଆ ଆଜି ବିଜେପିରେ ମିଶିଛନ୍ତି। ଆୟୋଜିତ ଏହି ମିଶ୍ରଣ ପର୍ବରେ ମାନ୍ୟବର ରାଜ୍ୟ ସଭାପତି ଶ୍ରୀ ମନମୋହନ ସାମଲ, ଉପମୁଖ୍ୟମନ୍ତ୍ରୀ ଶ୍ରୀ କନକ ବର୍ଦ୍ଧନ ସିଂ ଦେଓ, ମନ୍ତ୍ରୀମଣ୍ଡଳର ସଦସ୍ୟ,… pic.twitter.com/f5KMvx96Ej
— BJP Odisha (@BJP4Odisha) October 11, 2025
Jay was tipped to be the BJD’s candidate for the bypoll, scheduled for November 11. However, the opposition party had not officially announced his name.
Jay’s father had represented Nuapada as MLA for 21 years before his death from cardiac arrest in a Chennai hospital on September 8 at the age of 68. He had initially won his first election in 2004 as an Independent before securing the next three victories on a BJD ticket. He served as the minister of planning and convergence from June 5, 2022, until the BJD was defeated by the BJP in the assembly elections held in June of the previous year.
Sources close to the Dholakia family revealed that Jay had travelled to Delhi and Rajasthan over the past three days to finalize the arrangements for his defection to the BJP.
BJD leaders, on the other hand, were completely unaware of the decision, as he had maintained contact with them up until Friday night.
The BJD, visibly angered by the turn of events, claimed that Jay’s father would never have approved of his choice had he been alive.
“He is Rajendra Dholakia’s adopted son; therefore, he does not carry his blood, and that is why he betrayed the party which made his father MLA four times and also a cabinet minister. Had Rajendra Dholakia been alive, he would not have accepted this,” BJD vice-president Pratap Jena claimed.
Patnaik, who had just returned to Bhubaneswar from New Delhi on Friday after a month-long absence, convened a meeting of the party’s Political Affairs Committee (PAC) to select a new candidate for the Nuapada by-poll, which was still ongoing at the time of the last reports.
Meanwhile, Jay’s supporters in Nuapada celebrated his change of allegiance by organizing a substantial rally, notably without any party flags.
State Congress president Bhakta Charan Das alleged that this development provided clear evidence of an internal understanding between the BJP and BJD in Odisha.
“BJD candidate Jay Dholakia joining the BJP right after the Nuapada by-election announcement clearly exposes their hidden alliance. Both parties fear the growing influence and resurgence of the Congress party in Odisha,” he asserted.
Das further claimed that the BJP had initially attempted to approach the Congress candidate, Ghasiram Majhi, but was unsuccessful due to his “strong ideological base.”
The incident mirrors a similar scenario from 2018 following the death of Congress MLA Subal Sahu of Bijepur, where the BJD successfully fielded his wife, Rita Sahu, who went on to win the subsequent bypoll.
