Bhubaneswar: Tension escalated during Rajya Sabha election in the Odisha Assembly on Monday as BJD president and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Naveen Patnaik raised serious objections regarding an incident involving BJP MLA from Brahmagiri, Upasana Mohapatra.
Speaking to the media, the BJD supremo alleged that the MLA made an error while casting her vote. “However, the presiding officer in the voting room illegally accepted her vote and issued a second ballot paper. This is completely against democratic norms and a violation of election rules. We strongly object to this,” he said.
Naveen added that BJD MLAs had raised the issue on the spot but were ignored.
According to sources, the dispute arose after Mohapatra reportedly erred while marking her ballot paper, leading to overwriting. When she asked for a replacement ballot, agents from the BJD and Congress immediately objected and contested the request.
Following the objections, voting was temporarily halted.
Interestingly, 82 of the 147 MLAs in the Odisha Assembly are first-timers, who have never participated in a Rajya Sabha election. To minimise errors, parties have conducted training sessions.
The prestige battle
Odisha is witnessing voting for Rajya Sabha elections after a gap of 12 years with five candidates in the fray for four seats, which has led to fears of cross-voting and horse-trading.
The BJD president had earlier accused the BJP of resorting to horse-trading to ensure the victory of its three candidates in the upcoming polls. Besides state unit president Manmohan Samal, and sitting MP Sujeet Kumar, the saffron party is supporting former Union Minister Dilip Ray, who is also contesting as an Independent.
The BJP holds a commanding position with 82 votes (79 MLAs plus three supporting independents) and is poised to comfortably claim two seats. The BJD, with its 48 MLAs, can comfortably secure victory for its primary candidate Santrupt Misra through at least 30 first-preference votes. The outcome for the fourth of four seats hangs in the balance and has turned into a major prestige showdown between the opposition’s joint candidate, Dr Datteswar Hota, and the BJP-backed independent, Dilip Ray. Hota’s chances depend on securing the backing of the 14 Congress MLAs, the lone CPI(M) legislator, and the remaining BJD MLAs, provided no defections occur.
Therefore, as voting commenced in the Odisha Legislative Assembly at 9 am, all eyes were on MLAs, who may abstain or defy the party whip.
