BJP may not contest, all the four BJD Rajya Sabh nominees may be elected

Bhubaneswar,:11/3/20:Decks are almost clear for the win of all the four BJD nominees to the Rajya Sabha with the indication of BJP, the main opposition party in the state assembly, that it will not contest the polls. Earlier, two other opposition parties Congress and CPM had announced that they would not field candidates for the Rajya Sabha polls,

“We don’t have the numbers to win the poll independently. Nor will we join hands with the Congress. “, Leader of Opposition Pradipta Kumar Naik told reporters today.

The ruling BJD has 112 members in the 147-member state assembly, while the BJP, the main opposition party, has 23, Congress ten and CPM one seat. While BJD has the required strength to win three seats independently, both BJD and BJP fall short of seven seats each to win the fourth seat on their own. BJP has to seek the support of its traditional rival Congress to win the fourth RS seat.

Four seats of Rajya Sabha have fallen vacant from Odisha. The nomination process has already begun with all the four BJD nominees filing their nomination papers before the Returning Officer today. The date for voting has been fixed on March 26.

However, voting will not be necessary if there will be no nomination from the opposition side. All the four ruling BJD nominees will be declared elected uncontested.