Bhubaneswar, March 14 BJD president Naveen Patnaik on Saturday accused the BJP of being involved in "horse trading" in the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections in Odisha, and asserted that such a practice is an "offence" in a democratic process.
His comments came amid fears of cross-voting during the March 16 biennial polls in which five candidates are contesting for four seats in the state.
Senior BJP MLA and former minister Jaynarayan Mishra rejected Patnaik's allegations, claiming that there was no such "horse trading".
The two official 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.
After participating in a mock-poll session on the Odisha assembly premises here, Patnaik said, "BJP leaders and their three Rajya Sabha candidates are trying their best to trade horses, which is an offence to win this democratic election."
The BJP legislator claimed the BJD chief has "admitted defeat before the Rajya Sabha elections by levelling the horse-trading allegation" against the ruling party.
Mishra also said, “We are not indulging in horse trading, and we have called upon MLAs to vote as per their conscience."
He claimed that some MLAs prefer the BJP as they anticipate "no future in the BJD".
“The BJD is sinking, and several of its leaders prefer the BJP. The BJD exists on the wishes of the BJP central leadership,” he claimed.
Senior BJP leader and Balasore MP Pratap Chandra Sarangi alleged that Patnaik is an "expert in horse trading and is adept at that art".
"When I was an MLA in Odisha, the BJD people had insisted that I vote in favour of their candidate in the previous Rajya Sabha elections. The BJP has never believed in horse trading," he claimed.
BJD MLA Byomakesh Ray, who defeated the BJP state president in the last assembly elections, accused Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi of being involved in the "horse trading".
“It is unfortunate that the chief minister himself is involved in the horse trading. He (CM) urged MLAs to make a deal. As a chief minister, he should refrain from horse trading," Ray, a three-time legislator from Chandabali in Bhadrak district, told reporters on the assembly premises.
Ray also said the BJP fielded two candidates and supported an Independent, but lacks the "required number to win all three seats in the RS elections".In the midst of the hectic political activities for the Rajya Sabha polls, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Rama Chandra Kadam said that party MLA Dasarathi Gomango remained “unreachable”.
“His phones are switched off. Our state and central leaders tried to contact him, but failed. Still, we hope that the two-time Congress MLA will reach the assembly on March 16 and cast his vote on party line,” Kadam told reporters here.
Asked about the possible action against Gomango, Kadam said the party adopts zero tolerance for indiscipline.
Gomango was one of the six Congress MLAs, who were not part of a group of party legislators who had been taken to Karnataka, a move seen as a ploy to shield them from "horse trading”.
BJP MLA Ashok Mohanty alleged that the Congress has kept its MLAs in an undisclosed place.
“Sending MLAs outside the state is a conspiracy. The legislators should take part in the ongoing budget session of the assembly, but they have been kept away from the House, which is unethical," Mohanty said, claiming that the Congress does not have trust in its MLAs.
The state BJP leadership held a meeting with party MLAs at its state headquarters here, while BJD lawmakers took part in a lunch at the Naveen Niwas, the residence of party supremo.
The March 16 voting for the RS polls is being held in Odisha after a gap of 12 years, as this time, five candidates are in the fray for the four seats which will fall vacant on April 2.