Bhubaneswar: The ruling BJP in Odisha Friday issued a whip, asking all its MLAs to remain present in the assembly for voting in the Rajya Sabha elections March 16.
Government chief whip Saroj Pradhan, in a note, asked the party MLAs to remain present on the Assembly premises from 9 am to 4 pm Monday.
The BJP’s whip to its MLAs came after the BJD and Congress issued orders to their legislators to remain present in the state capital during the Rajya Sabha elections.
In the 147-member Odisha Assembly, the BJP has 79 MLAs and the support of three other Independents, while the main opposition BJD has 48 MLAs after the suspension of two members. The Congress has 14 MLAs.
Keeping in view the present party position in the assembly, the BJP is certain to win two seats, while one seat will go in favour of the BJD. As a candidate needs at least 30 first preference votes in the Rajya Sabha polls in Odisha, neither the BJP nor the BJD has the strength to get an additional seat.
BJD president Naveen Patnaik has fielded urologist Dr Datteswar Hota as a common candidate to secure the support of Congress’s 14 MLAs and the lone CPI(M) member.
The BJP has fielded its state president Manmohan Samal, and Sujeet Kumar as its official candidates, while party leader and hotelier Dilip Ray is also in the race as an Independent candidate, with the saffron party’s backing.
The Odisha Assembly is set to witness voting for Rajya Sabha elections after a gap of 12 years. The last voting for the Upper House of Parliament was held in the state in 2014, officials said.
This time, voting will be held for the Rajya Sabha elections as five candidates are in the fray for the four seats to be vacated April 2.