VP vote: BJD to abstain; BJP says abstaining means indirect support for Radhakrishnan

Bhubaneswar, Sep 8 (IANS) Odisha opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) will abstain from voting for the post of Vice President, said senior BJD leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sasmit Patra on Monday, while the BJP asserted that abstaining means indirect support for their candidate C.P. Radhakrishnan.

Patra told media persons that following the discussions by the BJD party president Naveen Patnaik with the party senior leaders, Political Affairs Committee and MPs, the Biju Janata Dal has decided to abstain from the vice-presidential elections tomorrow.

“The BJD remains equidistant from both NDA and the INDIA Bloc. We are focused on the development and welfare of Odisha and its people,” said Patra.

As per reports, the party supremo, Naveen Patnaik, held discussions on the issue with the BJD Rajya Sabha MPs in New Delhi on Monday.

The regional party currently has seven MPs in the Rajya Sabha, while it has no members in the Lok Sabha.

The party has followed a similar stance as it did during the Vice-Presidential election in 2012. It had supported neither Jaswant Singh, the BJP candidate, nor Hamid Ansari, who was fielded by the Congress party.

In 2017, the BJD voted in support of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) candidate, Gopal Krishna Gandhi, for the post of Vice President.

However, in 2022, the party supported the NDA candidate, Jagdeep Dhankhar, for the same post.

Meanwhile, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) welcomed the decision, saying that by abstaining from the vote, the BJD is indirectly extending support to the BJP candidate.

“Choosing to abstain from voting is to extend indirect support. By doing so, the BJD and Naveen Babu are indirectly supporting us,” claimed Union Minister Jual Oram.

The voting for the vacant Vice President position is scheduled to be held on September 9.

The BJP-led NDA has fielded veteran BJP leader and Maharashtra Governor, C.P. Radhakrishnan, as its Vice-Presidential candidate, while former Supreme Court judge Justice (Retd.) B Sudershan Reddy is the INDIA Bloc’s candidate for the post.

--IANS

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