Bhubaneswar: Speculation is rife that senior Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader of and Rajya Sabha (RS) member Prasanna Acharya might be the next deputy chairman of the upper house as the tenure of PJ Kurien ends this month.
It is learnt that Kurien’s term ends June 30 and election for his successor is likely to be held in the monsoon session of Parliament. As per the speculation, Congress may support BJD, which is having nine members in the RS, for the election so that the party will get double benefits.
If supports BJD, the Congress would succeed in keeping BJP away from the post and the option of getting support from BJD for next general elections would remain open.
The Congress may adopt such formula as it succeeded in keeping BJP out of power in the recent Karnataka elections, it was learnt.
When contacted, Prasanna Acharya rubbished such speculations by saying that no decision on the Rajya Sabha deputy chairman election has been taken yet. ‘The party and the party president will take a call on these matters. But I am not aware of any such development,” Acharya said.
Asserting that BJD stood by its stated position of maintaining equidistance from both BJP and Congress, Acharya said any decision about a change in the policy can only be made by the party chief.
Apart from Acharya, the name of Trinamool Congress MP Sukhendu Roy is also doing the rounds as a contender for the post.
Commenting on this issue, Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) campaign committee chief Bhakta Charan Das said, “It is premature to say whether Congress will support BJD or not for the poll. TMC is in the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ (mega alliance) with Congress, but BJD is not. BJD’s inclusion in the mega alliance will be clear during the deputy chairman election.”
However, Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said his party would nominate a candidate for the RS deputy chairman post at appropriate time and they would win the poll. “We will appeal to all the parties including Congress to set an example by unanimously supporting one candidate,” Pradhan said.
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