Bhubaneswar: BJP on Friday alleged the results of Rajya Sabha elections in Odisha exposed a "secret understanding" between BJD and the Congress and sought an apology from Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for the humiliating defeat of Padma Vibhusan Raghunath Mohapatra in the biennial polls.
"The Rajya Sabha elections have exposed the secret understanding between BJD and the Congress. This unholy nexus led to the defeat of Mohapatra," BJP state president KV Singhdeo in a statement said.
Claiming that the BJD MLAs had intentionally voted in excess number in favour of their party candidates, Singhdeo alleged that it was part of their strategy to ensure victory of Congress candidate Ranjib Biswal.
Biswal got 29 votes while Mohapatra had secured only 20 votes and the BJD had extra 22 votes in hand to favour the party-backed candidate. However, only 15 of the BJD's 22 votes went in favour of Mohapatra, Singhdeo said, adding that the BJP MLAs have religiously backed the chief minister.
"Naveen has backstabbed Mohapatra. The Chief Minister's betrayal is considered as a big blow to Odisha's art and rich cultural heritage," Singhdeo alleged. Even though the BJD MLAs were aware that their candidates require 30 votes each, still they voted in excess number, he said.
BJD candidate AU Singhdeo got 33 votes while Kalpataru Das and Sarojini Hembram received 32 and 31 votes respectively. In the process, BJD's six votes, which should have gone to Mohapatra, were misused and the vote of another senior MLA was rejected resulting in Mohapatra falling seven votes short of the required number.
"Had Mohapatra got seven votes, he could have won the polls. However, Naveen's men diverted votes leading to his defeat," Singhdeo alleged.
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