BHUBANESWAR: Even as BJD has extended its support to Union Railway Minster Ashwini Vaishnaw’s Rajya Sabha candidature, none of its leaders accompanied him during filing of nomination papers on Thursday.
Accompanied by state BJP president Manmohan Samal and 13 BJP MLAs, Vaishnaw submitted two sets of nomination papers to returning officer Abanikant Patnaik in the Assembly.
After filing his nomination, Vaishnaw thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving him another chance to serve the state. “I pray before Lord Jagannath to give me more energy and motivation to serve Odisha even better. I will work uninterruptedly like the squirrel of Lord Ram and will not cease to work until Odisha becomes a developed state as envisioned by PM Modi,” he added.
However, while no BJD leader was present during the nomination paper submission, the minister also did not thank the regional outfit for supporting his candidature. Back in 2019, when Vaishnaw had filed his papers for the Rajya Sabha by-poll, BJD leaders Sasmit Patra and Amar Patnaik had accompanied him.
The returning officer said as three candidates have filed their nomination papers, they will be elected on February 20 and election will not be necessary on February 27. The last date of withdrawal of candidature is February 20.
Meanwhile, state Congress leaders staged a demonstration at Master Canteen square to protest BJD’s support to Vaishnaw’s candidature. President of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Sarat Pattanayak announced such demonstrations will be held at every district headquarters town on February 17 to protest against the alliance between BJD and BJP.