As BJD backs Vaishnaw for RS polls, buzz of ‘tacit pact’ with BJP in Odisha gains pace

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.