Bhubaneswar: The Odisha’s ruling BJD and other main opposition Congress are worried of a possible fifth candidate fielded by BJP.
The ruling BJD had announced its four candidates for the 4 seats of Rajya Sabha from Odisha, election for which will held later this month. Now all eyes on move by the Odiaha BJP.
The Congress president Niranjan Patnaik has already announced that his party going to abstain from voting in Rajya Sabha election. The party with 9 members is not in a position to file the nomination papers. In the 147 member house the required number is 10 to file the nomination papers. The CPM which has a lone member in the House has declared that it would not participate in the voting for Rajya Sabha election.
However, the Congress is in a tizzy as BJP, the main opposition in the House is asserting to field the 5th candidate to give a challenge to the ruling party in the State. That the BJP has already obtained 4 sets of nomination papers gives credence to its claim.
If the saffron party with 23 members throw up a candidate ensuring elections, it would certainly cause headaches for BJD and.Congress.
With huge resources at its hand, the BJP would try to humiliate the two major political parties in the State.
The ruling BJD with 112 members to vote in the Rajya Sabha election is in a comfortable position to win all the four seats. However, it cannot rule out possibility of cross voting. The party has to keep its folks together.
But, more than the BJD, it is the Congress which had to guard its members from poachers.
Given the fissures in the Congress Legislative Party (CLP), the BJP will find it easier to corner support of some of the MLAs in the election.
The BJP will have victory if it wins the fourth seat. Its main rival in the State ruling BJD will be humiliated and its national rival Congress will be break into pieces.
With 23 members in the House, BJP requires another 5 votes to win the election. If it can engineered a defection in Congress and get the support of 5 members, it would be able to corner the fourth RS seat causing huge damage to Congress and BJD.
Speculations are rife that the BJP is going to pitch the outgoing Congress Rajya Sabha member Ranjib Biswal. Biswal, the son of former deputy chief minister Basant Biswal is known for his financial muscle. What weigh in favour of his candidature is his acquaintances with his Congress MLA in Odisha. Biswal, in fact, had defeated the BJD supported independent candidate.
The top brass of Congress had a secret meeting in the official residence of Congress Legislative Party leader Narasingha Mishra, here last week. Senior leaders of the party discussed about the possible fallout of the BJP entering in to the fray.
Now Rajya Sabha election experts say the the Congress will commit suicide if it decides to remain absent from voting. In that case, it can not issue the whip. And, it would easier for party MLAs to defy the dictate and vote in Rajya Sabha. If it would participate in the election and issue whips then it would be difficult for BJP to corner the Congress votes. The Congress MLAs have risk their MLAship to vote for BJP/ BJD. The Saffron party have to engineer a defection and ask the MLAs to form a group. In that case, the BJP have poach 6 members instead of their required 5.
