Bhubaneswar, March 14: While the Odisha Congress has promised wholehearted support to Dr Datteswar Hota, a common Rajya Sabha candidate picked by both Congress & BJD, mysterious disappearance of a Congress MLA has put a question mark on the party’s new resolve.
The whereabouts of Congress MLA from Mohana, Dasarathi Gamang is yet to be ascertained. At the same time, five other legislators’ resolve on the Rajya Sabha election scheduled for March 16 is under scanner. It’s because, at least 8 legislators are yet hibernating in Bengaluru, despite party’s stricter whip.
According to political observers, at least 8 Congress Legislators are at hand with the BJD, who are in a Bengaluru-based resort, to get rid of horse trade. However, six others who are now miles away from the OPCC Chief Bhakta Charan Das, who has escorted his confidant legislators to the Wonderla Resort in Bengaluru, might not vote for the common Candidate Dr Datteswar Hota. Some of them who are vehemently opposing OPCC President Das’ almost all political feats and his leadership, might vote for Dilip Ray, who is backed by the ruling BJP.
Meanwhile, Barabati MLA Sofia Firdous has expressed her ignorance regarding the unceremonious ally, initiated by the BJD.
Nobody from the Odisha Congress had sought her consent regarding the party’s unprecedented stance for the ensuing Rajya Sabha Elections, Sofia said to media on Saturday.
The only lady-Legislator from the Odisha Congress also said that no meeting among the legislators was convened in this connection wherein the matter could have been discussed.
Underlining the resort politics, that’s apparently going on ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections, Firdous said that she was neither invited to the Wonderla Resort, Bengaluru nor was she aware of the Party’s bid for the Rajya Sabha poll.
Citing her disappointment from the Nuapada By-election, Firdous alleged that she was not empanelled then as one among the star- campaigners in the poll, seemed crucial for the Odisha Congress.
Worth mentioning, two eminent figures are in the fray for the Rajya Sabha Election, who fight for the fourth coveted seat. Dilip Ray, a renowned industrialist & veteran opinion leader is ambitious for the 4th chair. He is backed by the ruling BJP while he vows to bag some extempore votes from some legislators, based on his rapport with them.
On the other hand, Dr Datteswar Hota, a confidant of BJD Supremo Naveen Patnaik has declared his candidature and aspires to beat Ray. Meanwhile, the Odisha Congress, following the OPCC & AICC’s approval, promised to support Dr Hota, announcing him as a common BJD-Congress supported candidate. However, the divergence of Sofia’s opinion from the OPCC’s resolve, ahead of the Rajya Sabha poll,is making it apparent that something undesirable is going to happen during the Upper House poll scheduled on March 16. Similarly, the support of the Mohan MLA Gamang is seemed to be ‘a pie in the sky’ for the righteous aspirant.
