BHUBANESWAR : As the beleaguered BJD struggles to keep its flock together after the humiliating loss in the elections with widespread desertions at all levels, the party’s seven Rajya Sabha MPs on Tuesday put up a united front refuting speculations of their switch over to the BJP.
The move comes in the backdrop of two MPs quitting the party and joining BJP in quick succession in the recent months and strong rumours over more members of the Upper House following suit.
Addressing a media conference at New Delhi, BJD parliamentary party leader Sasmit Patra said, “We are with the BJD and will continue to be in the party till our last breath.”
The talks of further desertion from the regional outfit had stemmed from a statement by party’s Rajya Sabha member Niranjan Bishi that the BJD will not support the no-confidence motion against chairman Jagdeep Dhankar. Besides, photographs of BJD MPs meeting the Rajya Sabha chairman at New Delhi recently were also doing the rounds on social media.
Patra said the meeting of MPs with Dhankar has been misconstrued and an impression created that the MPs of the regional outfit are under some pressure. “We would like to say that the chairman of the Rajya Sabha is a constitutional position above political lines. Therefore, dragging him as well as the seven MPs into such controversy is unfortunate. We condemn it strongly,” he said.
Stating that spreading the news about the possibility of defection from BJD is the handiwork of some vested interests, Patra said, this will not work. BJP MLA from Pallahara Ashok Mohanty had recently claimed that two more BJD RS members, a senior leader and an youth leader, will join BJP.
The number of BJD members in the Rajya Sabha has come down to seven from nine during the last six months. Mamata Mahanta and Sujeet Kumar had resigned from BJD and were re-elected to the Upper House as BJP members. The BJD had drawn a blank in the Lok Sabha election.