Bhubaneswar, February 27: Ahead of Rajya Sabha elections in four seats in Odisha, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday met BJP national president Nitin Nabin in New Delhi.
While details of what transpired during the meeting remain undisclosed, the timing has sparked speculations in political circles.
After the meeting, the Chief Minister posted in X, "Called on Shri @NitinNabin Ji, President of the Bharatiya Janata Party today and held productive discussions on strengthening organisational coordination and accelerating development initiatives in Odisha. Reaffirmed our shared commitment to good governance, inclusive growth, and the welfare of the people of our state."
Though the meeting was officially described as a discussion on organisational coordination and development priorities in the State, the meeting has assumed political significance amid the Rajya Sabha election buzz.
Speculation has intensified over possible nominees from the State for the elections in four seats.
Based on their current Assembly strengths, BJP is poised to win two seats and the BJD one, with no other party having numbers to secure the fourth. Now, all eyes are on the fourth seat.
The biennial election on March 16 will fill the vacancies created by the expiry of terms of BJP’s Sujeet Kumar and Mamata Mohanta and BJD’s Muzibulla Khan and Niranjan Bishi on April 2.
With 79 MLAs and support from 3 Independent legislators, BJP can comfortably secure two seats, while the BJD’s 50 MLAs will ensure another seat. The fourth seat would require a consensus between two of the three major parties, as Congress has only 14 MLAs in the 147-member Odisha Assembly.
