A meeting of the BJP legislature Party (BJPlP) held on Monday discussed the issue of the party’s role in regard to support for the BJD-backed Independent candidate for the fourth Rajya Sabha (RS) seat from the State and decided to send its recommendation to the party’s Parliamentary Board for a ‘final decision’.
“We will make our stand clear after the approval of the Parliamentary Board,” said BJPlP leader Jaynarayan Mishra.
The State BJP is divided on the question of supporting BJD-supported Independent candidate sculptor Padma Vibhushan Raghunath Mohapatra. While a section led by party national general secretary Dharmendra Pradhan is in favour of support to Mohapatra, the other led by State president KV Singh Deo is staunchly opposed to any such move on the ground that Mohapatra is a “Naveen Patnaik candidate”.
Another section, represented by Ashok Sahu, is in favour of abstaining from polling since there is “no question of supporting the Congress candidate (Ranjib Biswal)”.
Meanwhile, suspended BJP Bonai MlA Bhimsen Choudhury on Monday announced that he would not abide by the party’s decision on the issue of the Rajya Sabha polls. He said he would act as per his conscience and vote for the candidate most suitable for Odisha. He further announced that he would not contest the forthcoming Assembly elections on the BJP ticket either.
However, KV Singh Deo said he would discuss the matter with Choudhury.Choudhury was suspended from the party for violating the party whip in the 2010 Rajya Sabha elections by abstaining from polling.