BJD Decides to Abstain from Vice President Election Vote in Odisha Politics Update
In a big move from Odisha’s political scene, the opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has announced it will skip voting in the upcoming Vice President election. Senior BJD leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sasmit Patra shared this decision with reporters on Monday. Meanwhile, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claims this abstention actually helps their candidate, C.P. Radhakrishnan.
Patra explained that BJD chief Naveen Patnaik talked it over with senior leaders, the Political Affairs Committee, and MPs. After those chats, the party chose to stay out of the Vice Presidential election voting set for Tuesday, September 9. "The BJD keeps its distance from both the NDA and the INDIA Bloc," Patra said. "Our main focus stays on Odisha’s development and the welfare of its people."
Reports say Patnaik met with BJD’s seven Rajya Sabha MPs in New Delhi on Monday to discuss the matter. The party doesn’t have any seats in the Lok Sabha right now, so all eyes are on their upper house members.
This isn’t the first time BJD takes a neutral stand in such polls. Back in 2012, they abstained during the Vice President election, neither backing BJP’s Jaswant Singh nor Congress’s Hamid Ansari. Things changed in 2017 when they supported UPA’s Gopal Krishna Gandhi. Then, in 2022, BJD voted for NDA’s Jagdeep Dhankhar.
The BJP, however, sees this abstention as a win for them. Union Minister Jual Oram pointed out, "Abstaining from the vote means indirect support. So, BJD and Naveen Babu are basically helping us out."
For this election, the BJP-led NDA has picked veteran leader and Maharashtra Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan as their Vice Presidential candidate. On the other side, the INDIA Bloc goes with former Supreme Court judge Justice (Retd.) B Sudershan Reddy.
As Odisha politics heats up with this BJD decision, voters and supporters watch closely how it plays out in the national Vice President race. Stay tuned for more updates on Indian politics and election news.
