Dilip Ray

Dilip Ray
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
Incumbent
Assumed office 3 April 2026
Preceded by	Niranjan Bishi
Constituency	Odisha
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Steel
In office 13 October 1999 – 27 May 2000
Prime Minister	Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Preceded by	Naveen Patnaik
Succeeded by	Braja Kishore Tripathy
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Coal
In office 20 March 1998 – 13 October 1999
Prime Minister	Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Preceded by	Inder Kumar Gujral
Succeeded by	Ministry abolished
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Food Processing Industries
In office 6 July 1996 – 25 December 1997
Prime Minister	H. D. Deve Gowda Inder Kumar Gujral
Preceded by	H. D. Deve Gowda
Succeeded by	Jaipal Reddy
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Animal Husbandry and Dairying
In office 29 June 1996–6 July 1996
Prime Minister	H. D. Deve Gowda
Succeeded by	Raghuvansh Prasad Singh
Former Member Of Rajya Sabha
In office 1996–2002
In office 2002–2008
Succeeded by	Mangala Kisan
Minister Of Odisha Govt. Under Biju Patnaik Cabinet
In office 15 March 1990 – 1 January 1991
In office 1 January 1991 – 15 March 1995
Member Of Odisha Legislative Assembly
In office 1985–1995
Preceded by	Gurupada Nanda
Succeeded by	Prabhat Mohapatra
Constituency	Rourkela
In office 2014–2019
Preceded by	Sarada Prasad Nayak
Succeeded by	Sarada Prasad Nayak
Constituency	Rourkela
Personal details
Born	(1954-01-09) January 9, 1954 Rourkela, Orissa, India
Party	Bharatiya Janata Party(2014-Present)
Other political affiliations	Janata Party (1985-1990) Janata Dal(1990-1997) Biju Janata Dal (1997-2002)
Spouse	Pooja Ray
Children	3
Relatives	Nilamani Routray (Distant Relative)
Occupation	Politician Hotelier

Dilip Ray is an Indian politician and hotelier from the state of Odisha. He is a member of parliament from Odisha and a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He was formerly Union Minister of Steel, Coal and Parliamentary Affairs. He was also served minister In Biju Patnaik Cabinet. He is the founder and CMD of Mayfair Group of Hotels, largely based in eastern India.

Political career

Ray was elected as the chairman of the then Rourkela Notified Council in 1985. In the same year he was elected as MLA from Rourkela Constituency (1985–90) and was re-elected again in the year 1990. He served as Minister of Industries in the Janata Dal Government (1990–95) which was headed by Biju Patnaik. Ray is a distant relative to former odisha CM Nilamani Routray.

Ray was nominated to the upper house of Parliament, i.e., Rajya Sabha in 1996 and continued to be the member of the house for two consecutive terms (1996–2002; 2002–2008). As a parliamentarian, he held several ministry portfolios and was a member of different parliamentary committees.

He also played a role in the foundation of the Biju Janata Dal. Ray considered Biju Patnaik his mentor and Biju spent the last years of his life with him. During his last days, Biju Patnaik had expressed his desire to form a regional party for which he had consultations with several national leaders like Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Lal Krishna Advani, and Pramod Mahajan but could not effectuate it because of his untimely demise.

After the death of Biju Patnaik, Ray and along with other Janata Dal leaders founded Biju Janata Dal. When the party came into existence, Gyan Patnaik, wife of Biju Patnaik, asked him to take the leadership of the party, but he declined and requested someone from the family take the position.

Ray was a sitting member of Odisha Legislative Assembly representing Rourkela Assembly constituency before he left politics for some time in the year 2018.

He was elected from Rajya Sabha in 2026, after being supported by Bharatiya Janata Party.

Positions held

• Chairman, Rourkela Municipality
• Member, Odisha Legislative Assembly (1985–1990)
• Member, Odisha Legislative Assembly (1990–1995)
• Minister of State, Industries (15 Mar 1990 – 24 Jul 1990)
• Minister of State, Industries, excluding textiles and handlooms (24 Jul 1990 – 2 Jan 1991)
• Minister, Industries, excluding textiles and handlooms (2 Jan 1991 – 15 Mar 1995)
• Elected to Rajya Sabha (1996–2002)
• Union MoS (I/C) of the Ministry of Animal Husbandry and Dairying
• Union MoS (I/C) of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries
• Union MoS (I/C) of the Ministry of Coal
• Union MoS of Parliamentary Affairs
• Union MoS of Ministry of Steel
• Elected to Rajya Sabha for the second term (2002–2008)
• Member, Consultative Committee for the Civil Aviation
• Member, Committee on Labour and Welfare
• Member Committee on Labour
• Member, Odisha Legislative Assembly (2014–2019)
• Elected to Rajya Sabha (2026–present)

Rajya Sabha Election History

Position	Party		Constituency	From	To	Tenure
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha (1st Term)		BJD	Odisha	3 April 1996	2 April 2002	5 years, 364 days
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha (2nd Term)		IND		3 April 2002	2 April 2008	5 years, 365 days
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha (3rd Term)				3 April 2026	2 April 2032	5 years, 365 days

External links

• Profile on Rajya Sabha website