Bhubaneswar: Hours after being renominated for Rajya Sabha from Odisha, senior BJP leader and Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw arrived in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday.
He is on a two-day visit to the state and is likely to file his nomination papers on Thursday.
““I am a disciplined worker of BJP. The party takes all decisions of my public life. I am grateful to PM Narendra Modi for giving me the opportunity to to render my services once again. I also offer my prayers to Lord Jagannath on this occasion,” he told reporters at Bhubaneswar airport.
Meanwhile, BJP leaders in the state have congregated at the party headquarters, where Vaishnaw is expected to reach straight from the airport. He is also scheduled to review Railway and BSNL projects on Wednesday. He will be attending some local programmes the following day, sources said.
The BJD has also announced support for Railway Minister in Rajya Sabha election for the larger interests of state‘s railways and telecom development.
Debashish Samantray and Subhasish Kuntia of BJD have already filed their nomination papers for the other two seats from the state. But the party kept mum over the third candidate leading to speculation about a repeat of 2019 when it had ensured the victory of former bureaucrat Vaishnaw, who was nominated by BJP as its candidate for the Rajya Sabha bypolls, after a request from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
Also Read: Odisha To See Repeat Of 2019 As BJP Names Ashwini Vaishnaw As Its Rajya Sabha Candidate
The BJD has the required strength to win all three vacant RS seats, but BJP would need its support with only 22 MLAs in Odisha Assembly.
