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INDIA

Odisha: BJD, BJP propose former Atal aide for

Rajya Sabha, Congress calls it secret deal
With 112 out 146 seats in the state Assembly, the BJD is expected to comfortably win all three
Rajya Sabha seats. Citing its strength of 23 MLAs, BJP’s Odisha unit had previously admitted
to journalists that it is “not in a position to elect someone to Rajya Sabha”.
Written by Sampad Patnaik | • Bhubaneshwar |
Updated: June 22, 2019 7:04:45 am

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With 112 out 146 seats in the state Assembly, the BJD is expected to comfortably win all three Rajya Sabha seats.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday announced two candidates for upcoming Rajya
Sabha polls from the state, and said his party will support a third candidate proposed by the
BJP.

Patnaik initially said the party will nominate Ashwini Baishnab, a former IAS o cer from Odisha
who was private secretary to Atal Bihari Vajpayee when he was the Prime Minister. The Chief
Minister said Baishnab has “served Odisha very well”.

The BJP’s o cial account also tweeted: “The party has decided that Shri Ashwini Baishnab will
be Bharatiya Janata Party’s candidate for the upcoming bypolls to the Rajya Sabha from
Odisha.”
While the announcements led to a confusion on party membership of Baishnab, Patnaik
clari ed, “I think there was some confusion about Ashwini Baishnab. The PM spoke to me, as
did the Home Minister. We will support the candidature of Baishnab”. The two BJD candidates
for Rajya Sabha are the party’s IT cell head and former Principal AG of Odisha Amar Patnaik,
and party spokesperson Sasmit Patra.

Senior BJD leaders expressed “surprise” over Baishnab’s “joint nomination”. A party leader,
requesting anonymity, said, “We have many senior leaders who had been promised Rajya Sabha
seats by the CM because they were not given Lok Sabha or Assembly election tickets. But their
cooperation helped us win those seats. It is not clear why we are throwing away a seat.”

With 112 out 146 seats in the state Assembly, the BJD is expected to comfortably win all three
Rajya Sabha seats. Citing its strength of 23 MLAs, BJP’s Odisha unit had previously admitted to
journalists that it is “not in a position to elect someone to Rajya Sabha”.

Stating that the “cat is out of the bag,” senior Congress leader Narasingh Mishra told The Indian
Express, “The same choice of Rajya Sabha candidate, along with BJD’s support for one-nation,
one-poll, clearly proves what our party had been saying in the run up to the elections. The BJD
and BJP have always had a secret understanding. In critical moments, they support one
another. In public, they abuse each other”.

2 Comment(s)

Naveen Patnaik

Home / India / Odisha: BJD, BJP Propose Former Atal Aide For Rajya Sabha, Congress Calls It Secret Deal

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