BHUBANESWAR: The ruling BJP on Monday decided to contest three of the four Rajya Sabha seats from the state, setting the stage for an intense contest ahead of the March 16 election.
The decision was taken at a three-hour-long BJP legislature party meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi at his official residence on Monday. The meeting was attended by state BJP president Manmohan Samal and general secretary (organisation) Manas Mohanty, among other senior leaders.
However, in a move that has triggered political speculation, BJP’s chief whip Saroj Kumar Pradhan collected 16 sets of nomination forms from the returning officer. He told reporters that four sets of nomination forms had been taken for the four seats, indicating that the party is keeping all its options open.
During the legislature party meeting, signatures of attending MLAs were obtained on the nomination papers. The chief minister directed all BJP MLAs to remain present during the filing of nominations on March 5, indicating the importance the party is attaching to the contest.
The development is being seen as a surprise in political circles as the BJP’s current numerical strength in the 147-member Odisha Assembly comfortably ensures victory in two seats.
The opposition BJD with 48 MLAs is expected to secure one seat.
The Congress, which has 14 MLAs, is likely to back the BJD candidate for the fourth seat.
Despite this arithmetic, the BJP’s decision to contest three seats and its move to collect nomination papers for all four has set off speculation about cross-voting, strategic alliances or a broader political calculation. With just two days left for nominations, all eyes are now on the BJP’s final list of candidates and its aggressive strategy to rework the Rajya Sabha arithmetic in the state.
After the marathon meeting which ram for more than three hours, BJP MLA Santosh Khatua told mediapersons that signatures of the MLAs were collected in the forms pending finalisation of candidates by the party’s parliamentary board. Only the names of the selected candidates will be filled up in the nomination papers, he said.
Names doing the rounds as potential BJP nominees include Manmohan Samal, Samir Mohanty, Sujit Kumar, Mamata Mahanta and Dilip Ray. The name of party spokesperson Dilip Mohanty is also doing the rounds.