Bhubaneswar, March 16 At least five MLAs from the opposition BJD and Congress reportedly voted in favor of the BJP-backed Independent candidate, Dilip Ray, in the Rajya Sabha elections in Odisha, which are currently underway.
The polling for the RS elections is being held in the state after a gap of 12 years, as this time, five candidates are in the fray for four seats, which will fall vacant on April 2.
Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Bhakta Charan Das told reporters that three of its MLAs – Ramesh Jena, Dasarathi Gomango, and Sofia Firdous – have "voted in favor of the BJP."
BJD's Banki MLA, Devi Ranjan Tripathy, also announced that he voted in favor of the BJP-backed Independent candidate.
"I oppose our party's decision to join hands with the Congress. My decision to vote for the BJP-supported Independent candidate is in line with the legacy of Biju Patnaik, who had always fought against the Congress," Tripathy said.
Another BJD MLA, Souvic Biswal's wife, Dr. Ananya Priyadarshini, claimed that her husband voted in favor of Ray.
"My husband has voted against the party line, as our father-in-law, Pravat Biswal, was recently expelled from the BJD. He was humiliated within the party. My husband has been observing 'Maun Vrat' and has worked hard for the BJD, but he has been neglected," Biswal's wife told reporters on the assembly premises.
BJD president, Naveen Patnaik, said, "I have spoken that the BJP and its allies would indulge in 'horse trading'. Those opposition members who voted in favor of the BJP have criminal records and were sent to jail."
Two candidates of the BJP are its state unit president, Manmohan Samal, and sitting Rajya Sabha MP, Sujeet Kumar. Former Union minister, Dilip Ray, is also contesting as an Independent and has the support of the saffron party.
The BJD nominees are party leader, Santrupt Misra, and eminent urologist, Dr. Datteswar Hota, whom the Congress and the CPI(M) are supporting.
There is a possibility of cross-voting as neither the ruling BJP nor the opposition BJD has the required numbers to win the fourth seat.
In the 147-member Odisha assembly, the BJP has 79 MLAs and the support of three Independents, while the BJD has 48 members after the suspension of two of its legislators on January 15. The Congress has 14 MLAs and one member of CPI(M).
According to the Rajya Sabha arithmetic in Odisha, one candidate requires 30 first preference votes to win a seat. As the BJP has the support of 82 members, it will have 22 surplus votes after electing its two candidates. Similarly, the BJD will have 18 surplus votes after electing its one candidate.