With the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) announcing support for his candidature, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw’s path to a second term in the Rajya Sabha from Odisha is all but clear, even as the move has triggered fresh speculations of a “tacit understanding” between the BJP and BJD.
The move ahead of the upcoming simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly polls comes in the backdrop of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and MP Rahul Gandhi accusing the BJD and BJP of “running a partnership government in Odisha”.
Minutes after the BJP officially named Vaishnaw as its candidate, the BJD in a statement said it would support him “for the larger interest of the state’s railway and telecom development (Vaishnaw is the Minister for Railways and Communications)”. On Tuesday, the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD had announced two candidates for the February 27 Rajya Sabha polls despite having the numbers to win three seats.
The ruling party had extended support to Vaishnaw in 2019 too, when the former IAS officer was seeking election to the Upper House for the first time. A last-minute call from Modi to Patnaik had helped him get elected unopposed.
BJD insiders say the BJP central leadership consulted Patnaik before announcing Vaishnaw’s candidature, and the BJD hence named only two candidates – former MLA Debashish Samantaray and Subhashis Khuntia.
A native of Jodhpur in Rajasthan, Vaishnaw’s name was also doing the rounds as the BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate for one of the seats in the state, considering his tenure as an Odisha-cadre civil servant, and his time in the state as the district collector of Balasore and Cuttack.
The BJD has 108 members in the 147-member Assembly as four of its MLAs have been expelled while one recently resigned. The BJP has 22 MLAs while the Congress has nine, and the CPI(M) one. The House has four Independents while one seat is vacant.
Justifying his party’s support to the BJP nominee, a BJD leader said Odisha had received the highest ever allocation of over Rs 10,000 crore over the past two years for the development of the railway network in the state. “At least 58 railway stations are being developed. He (Vaishnaw) has also helped in the massive expansion of the telecom network in the state. Our support is to further accelerate this development,” he said.
In a statement, Vaishnaw thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for nominating him. “I am a disciplined member of the party. My party takes all decisions regarding my public life. I express my gratitude and thanks to the party leadership and the Prime Minister for giving me another chance to serve the people,” the Union minister said, upon his arrival in Bhubaneswar for filing the nomination. He also met BJP MLAs at the party state headquarters.
The BJD, by supporting Vaishnaw, seems to have outwitted the state BJP leadership, which is not too happy about an understanding with the BJD, while sending out a message about its proximity with the central leadership, particularly Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Officially, the BJP state unit said the BJD’s support in the Rajya Sabha polls will have no bearing on the party’s preparation for the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls. The party’s state chief, Manmohan Samal, said the BJP will fight the polls alone and ruled out an alliance with the BJD.
“Our party has never sought anyone’s support. If any party announces support for us, why would we deny it?… Our workers have geared up for a fight in 2024. We will fight on our own and there is no question of an understanding with any party,” he said.
The Congress stepped up its attack, accusing the BJD and BJP of joining hands to “loot” Odisha of its precious natural resources. “The people of Odisha voted for the BJD and were unaware that the government would have a secret understanding with the BJP. Both the parties have betrayed the people,” Odisha Congress president Sarat Pattanayak said.