In a first, Congress, BJD join hands for Rajya Sabha elections in Odisha

Delhi: BJD and Congress have joined hands for the Rajya Sabha elections in Odisha to support a “common candidate” that will help them prevent the possibility of the BJP from winning a third seat from the state.

The move assumes significance as this is the first time that the BJD, which had severed ties with the BJP long back, and Congress are coming together despite having no electoral alliance. It also comes even as BJD while in power had forfeited its seat to help Ashwani Vaishnaw win Rajya Sabha election on a request from the BJP.

After talks with Odisha Congress president Bhakta Charan Das earlier last week, BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik on Saturday announced the candidature of Dr Santrupt Misra, who joined the party ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and renowned neurologist Dr Datteswar Hota, who was the first Vice Chancellor of Odisha Health University.

While Misra will be fielded for the seat the BJD can easily win, Hota has been fielded for the fourth seat as a “common candidate”, who would need the votes from the Congress and the CPI(M) to cross the hurdle.

In the 147-member Assembly, BJP has 79 MLAs besides the support of three independents, BJD 50, including two who have been suspended, Congress 14 and CPI(M) 1. 

One candidate would need 31 first preference votes to win and the BJP can easily win two of the four seats going to polls. However, it is short of 11 votes for the third seat. BJD has a surplus of 19 votes and the Opposition expects that with the support of Congress and CPI(M), Hota can survive the electoral battle in case of a contest.

Das said Congress was of the view that in the interest to prevent horse-trading and to make a decision in the best interest of the state, the party felt that it should reach out to the BJD with the idea of a common candidate. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and others, including General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal, were in the know of things, he said.

He said he held discussions with Patnaik, who also shared the same sentiments. "Naveen-babu is strongly against horse-trading. He has taken a very important decision by fielding Dr Hota as a common candidate. We will support his candidature to prevent possible horse-trading as planned by the BJP," Das said while emphasising that the arrangement has come even as there is “no alliance” between both the parties.

Two of the retiring BJP MPs – Mamata Mohanta and Sujeet Kumar – were former BJD Rajya Sabha members who shifted allegiance to the saffron camp in the midst of their term after Patnaik’s electoral debacle in 2024. The others who are retiring are BJD MPs Muzibulla Khan and Niranjan Bishi, who were not renominated.

It is yet to be seen whether the cooperation in Rajya Sabha election would lead to electoral adjustments or alliances in the future, as the BJD had been maintaining “equidistance” from both BJP-led NDA and Congress-led I.N.D.I.A bloc. However, the electoral debacle in Assembly and Lok Sabha polls have moved BJD closer to the Opposition bloc.