BJD yet to decide stand on simultaneous polls, all MPs with Naveen Patnaik: Sasmit Patra

All seven Rajya Sabha MPs of the BJD held a press conference on Tuesday and expressed their support to Naven Patnaik and rejected reports of defections in the party that did not win a single Lok Sabha seat this time.

New Delhi: The Biju Janata Dal will decide its stand on the issue of the simultaneous election after examining the details of the two bills on the matter that are before the Lok Sabha, party leader Sasmit Patra said on Tuesday.

Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal Tuesday moved for the introduction of the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024, popularly referred to as the Bill on "One Nation, One Election", and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which seeks to align the polls of the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, Puducherry and the NCT of Delhi.

Interacting with reporters on the sidelines of a press conference here, Patra said Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief Naveen Patnaik is "seized of the matter".

All seven Rajya Sabha MPs of the BJD held a press conference here on Tuesday and expressed their support to Naven Patnaik and rejected reports of defections in the party that did not win a single Lok Sabha seat this time. 

Asked about the BJD's stand on the 'One Nation, One Election' bills, Patra said party chief Naveen Patnaik is "seized of the matter".

"The BJD does not have a presence in Lok Sabha. When the Bills come to the Rajya Sabha, the party will take a decision," he said.

"BJD President Naveen Patnaik is seized of the matter, after a bill copy is released we will examine it, and a decision will be taken by the party." About alleged defections in the party, Patra said, "There are seven BJD (Rajya Sabha) MPs who have been constantly targeted in social media. The concern is they are constantly saying we are defecting.

"Therefore we wanted all seven MPs to come together in a press meeting and strongly say that we are with Naveen Patnaik ji and Biju Janata Dal. No one is leaving," Patra said while terming the defection claims "completely false, fabricated and concocted".

BJD had come to the aid of the ruling BJP in Parliament on several occasions in the past two terms of the Narendra Modi government, even as it had left the National Democratic Alliance in 2009. 

However, after losing the state assembly polls and with no Lok Sabha MP, the BJD announced that it would serve as a "strong and vibrant" opposition in the Upper House of Parliament. The party is, however, not a part of the opposition I.N.D.I.A. bloc.