BHUBANESWAR: With BJD appearing to have a decisive role in the election of the Deputy Chairperson of Rajya Sabha, both the NDA and the UPA have reached out to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to have him on their side. Leaders from both the political alliances dialled Naveen on Tuesday to seek his support but the party has not yet been forthcoming on the issue. The BJD will make the announcement over its stand on Wednesday as per the decision of party president Naveen, spokesperson Sasmit Patra said.
JD(U) president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar spoke to Naveen seeking his support for the party candidate Harivansh Narayan Singh. However, senior BJD leaders still do not have a clue as to the party’s decision which Patra made more difficult to guess by stating that during the 2012 presidential election, JD(U) had not supported BJD candidate P A Sangma. Others who spoke to Naveen over the issue included Home Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP president Amit Shah and former Union minister and NCP veteran Sharad Pawar. The Opposition parties may nominate NCP MP Vandana Chavan as a joint candidate for the election. Chavan is a second-time Rajya Sabha member from Maharashtra.
With neither the NDA nor the UPA having a majority in the Upper House, the BJD with nine members holds the key to the election. Sources said the BJP-led coalition can scrape through if it has the support of BJD and TRS. However, party sources said the BJD remains steadfast in its policy of maintaining equi-distance from the BJP and the Congress.
The BJD had supported the NDA presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind. The party had, however, also backed UPA vice-presidential candidate Gopal Krishna Gandhi.The post of the Deputy Chairman has been lying vacant since July this year following the retirement of PJ Kurien, who was elected to the Upper House of Parliament on a Congress ticket from Kerala.
Nitish speaks to Naveen
JD(U) president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar spoke to Naveen Patnaik seeking his support for the party candidate Harivansh Narayan Singh