Bhubaneswar: Amid fear of possible cross-voting in Rajya Sabha polls in Odisha, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president Naveen Patnaik on Saturday accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of resorting to horse-trading in a bid to ensure the victory of its candidates in the biennial elections.
Terming horse-trading as illegal and unethical, Naveen, who is the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the state Assembly, alleged that BJP is trying to influence the legislators to get additional seats in the Rajya Sabha elections slated to be held on March 16.
The former chief minister expressed the apprehension that democratic principles could be undermined if elected representatives were influenced during the electoral process.
With the Rajya Sabha polls set to witness a close contest expected for the fourth seat, the BJD chief said attempts to indulge in horse-trading is criminal, undermining the integrity of the electoral process.
Notably BJP is backing independent candidate Dilip Ray, while and Datteswar Hota is in the fray as a common nominee with support from BJD and Congress.
With the LoP alleging horse-trading, political observers recall the events of the 2002 Rajya Sabha polls, when a similar political and narrative battle had unfolded in Odisha.
In 2002, Dilip Ray won the fourth seat as an independent candidate. While voting was conducted through secret ballot, and several BJD MLAs were believed to have cross-voted in his favour. Ray defeated Congress candidate Maurice Kujur, while both official BJD candidates, Sushree Devi and Pramila Bohidar, also secured victory.
Though Dilip Ray won the fourth seat in terms of numbers, Naveen was widely seen as having won the narrative battle by strongly raising the issue of cross-voting and alleged horse-trading, which influenced public opinion at the time.
A similar situation appears to be unfolding again with a tight contest for the fourth seat between Ray and Hota and speculation over cross-voting, both the number game inside the Assembly and the narrative battle outside have returned to centre stage.
Rejecting Naveen’s claims, senior BJP leader and Sambalpur MLA Jayanarayan Mishra alleged that that the BJD chief himself had experience with horse-trading during his tenure as Chief Minister.
Claiming that Naveen smalls horse-trading in everything just as everything appears yellow to a jaundice patient, Mishra said BJP is not indulging in horse trading. However, if they votes come in its favour, the party will accept. “By making such allegations, Naveen Patnaik has effectively admitted defeat even before the results are declared,” he added.
