BJP-led NDA may bag RS Deputy Chairperson post with BJD’s support

The Biju Janata Dal’s support is set to ensure victory for NDA candidate Harivansh Narayan Singh in the poll to elect a new Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson on Thursday.

Though Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik will make his party’s stand public only on Wednesday, a BJD insider said Patnaik had committed his MPs’ votes to the JDU MP when Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar called him on Tuesday.

Patnaik’s office confirmed BJP president Amit Shah, home minister Rajnath Singh and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar spoke to the Odisha CM on the issue. The Odisha CM is in Mumbai for two-day investment meet. A BJD spokesperson said Patnaik would announce his party’s stand when he returned to Bhubaneswar.



Kumar reportedly spoke to his Telangana counterpart K Chandrasekhar Rao, too, who met the PM on Saturday.