Presidential poll: BJD to send 2 Odisha ministers for Droupadi Murmu’s nomination

Congress leaders in Odisha said they will not support NDA’s presidential nominee Droupadi Murmu despite chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s appeal to all legislators in the state to vote for her

Updated on: Jun 23, 2022, 18:15:57 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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After appealing to all the legislators of Odisha to vote for the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu calling her “daughter of the state”, chief minister Naveen Patnaik has sent two Biju Janata Dal (BJD) cabinet ministers to attend the nomination event scheduled to be held in New Delhi on Friday.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik called NDA’s presidential nominee Droupadi Murmu as ‘daughter of Odisha’ (ANI File Photo)

Patnaik, who is on a 10-day foreign tour, said he has sent minister for law, ST and SC development, minorities and backward class welfare, Jagannath Saraka, and minister for water resources, commerce and transport, Tukuni Sahu, to be present at the time of filing of nomination papers after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president, JP Nadda, spoke to him about the nomination of Murmu. The Odisha unit of the BJP is sending its 10 MLAs to attend the nomination filing event.

The BJD was the first non-NDA party to extend its support to Murmu, who is all set to become the next President of India next month when the tenure of President Ramnath Kovind ends. The YSRCP of Andhra Pradsh has also welcomed Murmu’s candidature, making her election a certainty.

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However, Congress leaders in Odisha said they will not support Murmu despite Patnaik’s appeal. Congress legislative party leader, Narasingha Mishra, said no matter how good or well-behaved a person is and what he achieves, the Congress will never support the person who believes in the ideology of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) or the BJP. “Even though she is a good politician and a good human being, she believes in the BJP ideology. So, the Congress will never support her. People of this ideology killed Mahatma Gandhi and we will never support such people,” he added.

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Mishra alleged that the BJP and the BJD are like two sides of a coin. He also alleged that chief minister Naveen Patnaik had earlier met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi and held consultations on nomination of the presidential candidate. This apart, the Congress has fielded its own candidate Yashwant Sinha for the presidential poll, so the state unit will extend support to him only, he said.

Murmu, meanwhile was given a rousing send-off at Biju Patnaik International Airport in the city as she left for New Delhi on Thursday to file her nomination papers. Tribal dance was performed and hundreds of her supporters greeted her at the airport.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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