Bhubaneswar: The ruling BJP in Odisha Thursday described the teaming up of the BJD and the Congress for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls as an “alliance of desperation” and “opportunism”.
State BJP spokesperson Anil Biswal made the remark after the Congress supported the BJD’s common candidate, eminent urologist Datteswar Hota, in the RS polls.
With neither the BJP nor the BJD having the numbers in the Assembly to secure an additional seat after ensuring victory for their official candidates, BJD chief Naveen Patnaik fielded Hota as a common candidate.
Soon after Patnaik announced Hota’s candidature, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Bhakta Charan Das declared his party’s support. The CPI(M) also backed the candidate.
Apart from Patnaik, Das and CPI(M) state secretary Suresh Panigrahy were present when Hota filed his nomination papers.
The development is being seen as the first instance in Odisha where the BJD and the Congress have agreed on a political issue.
The BJP, however, viewed the development as an indication of growing proximity between the two former rivals.
Taking to social media, Biswal said, “This is not an alliance of ideas, but an alliance of desperation–where convenience defeats conviction”.
The saffron party maintained that the Biju Janata Dal, a party created to oppose the Congress in the late 90s, now shares the kitchen with it.
“Once having started politics in the anti-Congress wave, Patnaik now sits side by side with PCC president Bhakta Das, who for long has been one of the most vocal critics of the BJD chief. This is the irony of politics,” Biswal said.
He also claimed that the development reflected a shift from “political untouchability to comfortable proximity”.
Rejecting the BJP’s views, senior BJD leader Santrupt Misra said, “There is no alliance between the BJD and the Congress. There is an understanding between the two parties for the Rajya Sabha elections. Our president named a common candidate and appealed to all parties to support him. Later, Congress and CPI(M) supported the move.”
Odisha BJP president Manmohan Samal said the BJD-Congress alliance will benefit the saffron party in the long run.
Biswal in the social post also attached a digital invitation card saying: “BJD Loves Congress. Political Holy Matrimony.”
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