BJD to abstain from vice presidential polls, decision to help NDA candidate

Bhubaneswar, Sep 8 (PTI) The opposition BJD in Odisha on Monday announced that its MPs will abstain from voting in the vice presidential elections, a decision which will help NDA candidate CP Radhakrishnan.

The party, headed by former chief minister Naveen Patnaik, said it took the decision as part of its policy of "maintaining an equal distance" from both the BJP-led NDA and Congress-led INDIA bloc at the national level.

"Patnaik has decided that the party MPs will abstain from voting in the vice presidential elections. He took the decision after consulting senior party leaders, members of the political affairs committee (PAC) and lawmakers," BJD MP Sasmit Patra said.

"Our entire focus is on the development of the state and its 4.5 crore people," he added.

The elections, in which only Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members are eligible to vote, will be held on Tuesday.

The ruling BJP in the state welcomed the decision.

"By deciding that BJD MPs will abstain from voting, Naveen 'babu' has indirectly supported our NDA candidate," Union minister Jual Oram said.

BJP's Bargarh MP Pradeep Purohit said there might be some "political compulsion" for which the BJD "indirectly supported" the NDA candidate.

Criticising the decision, Congress's Koraput MP Saptagiri Ulaka claimed the BJD might have extended "support" to the NDA candidate, "fearing CBI, I-T and ED raids".

"We hope Naveen 'babu' will reconsider the decision. The INDIA bloc candidate, B Sudershan Reddy, is not a Congress leader but an eminent jurist. If BJD MPs vote for him, it will not impact the party's policy of maintaining equidistance. There is still time to reconsider," he said.

Ulaka claimed that it appeared Patnaik no more has any control over his party, "which was evident during the passage of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill".

"Some BJD MPs supported the Bill, one abstained, and one opposed it. How can they show their face to the people of Odisha after indirectly supporting the BJP at the national level?" he asked.

State Congress president Bhakta Charan Das said it was an opportunity for the BJD to prove it was opposed to the BJP.

"With this decision, Naveen Patnaik has once again proved that BJD and BJP are one. We have been saying that Congress, and not BJD, is the real opposition in Odisha," he said.

Rejecting the claims, BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty said Patnaik's decision appeared to have "shaken" both the national parties.

"BJD has made its mark as a successful political party all over India. The party has the support of the people and is the number one party in the state even today. BJD will never compromise with the interests of the state," he said.

The BJD abstained from voting in the 2012 vice presidential polls, in which Hamid Ansari won. It backed non-NDA candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi in the 2017 polls, in which Venkaiah Naidu was elected. In 2022, it supported NDA candidate Jagdeep Dhankar.

The polls were necessitated after Dhankhar resigned from the post on July 21.

The BJD has only seven MPs in the Rajya Sabha and none in the Lok Sabha.

NDA has 293 MPs in the Lok Sabha and 129 members in the Rajya Sabha, commanding a clear majority. PTI AAM BBM AAM SOM