Damodar Rout skips BJD’s Anniversary Event, sends Son

ONI Bureau: As expected, beleaguered Dr. Damodar Rout, who was recently sacked as a Minister and relieved as BJD’s Vice President, skipped the 20th Anniversary event of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Puri, citing health reasons.

Dr. Rout’s son Sambit Routray, who is a ticket aspirant for 2019 polls, attended the event with his supporters. Sambit clarified that his father could not come to the event due to illness, but sent his best wishes through him.

Sambit also made it clear that he as well as his father have all respect for BJD and CM Naveen Patnaik. It is believed that Sambit would get the BJD ticket from Paradip in 2019 polls while Dama Rout would retire from active politics. A Mechanical Engineer by profession, Sambit is said to be soft and decent when it comes to dealing with public.