BJD gives a big blow to the opposition, will not support the no-confidence motion against Dhankhar

New Delhi. The opposition, which is uniting against Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, has been given a jolt by BJD. Biju Janata Dal, which has been in power in Odisha for about two and a half decades, has decided not to support the India Block’s no-confidence motion against Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar. Party MP Niranjan Bishi said that no one from the Indi alliance has contacted us to seek support on the no-confidence motion. Therefore, we have made it clear that we will not vote in support of the no-confidence motion.

Earlier, Biju Janata Dal supremo and former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had said that the party leadership is still keeping an eye on the ongoing developments regarding the no-confidence motion. He said that we are investigating it. Whatever steps are necessary in this regard, we will definitely take them.

On December 10, the opposition gave a notice in Parliament to bring a no-confidence motion against Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, accusing him of partisan behavior and being an emotional spokesperson of the government’s policies. The no-confidence motion is unlikely to pass after the BJD took a different stand from the opposition alliance. Because BJD has seven members in the Rajya Sabha. In 2022, the party supported Jagdeep Dhankhar’s candidature for the post of Vice President.

In the last six months, BJD MPs Mamta Mohanty and Sujit Kumar left the party and Rajya Sabha to join the BJP. Mohanta has been re-elected to the Rajya Sabha a few months ago, while Kumar reached the Rajya Sabha last week. In April, before losing in the assembly elections, BJD also supported the Rajya Sabha candidature of BJP candidate Ashwini Vaishnav.