Bhubaneswar, June 7 (IANS) Orissa’s opposition Congress has backed businessman Tara Patnaik as an independent candidate for the Rajya Sabha elections.
Patnaik submitted his nomination papers with the Congress proposing his name.
‘We don’t have the required numbers to field a candidate of our own, therefore we supported him,’ leader of opposition in the state assembly and senior Congress leader Bhupinder Singh told IANS.
‘He has also the support of several independent members,’ Bhupinder Singh, one of the proposers, said.
Patnaik said after filing his nomination that he has friends in all parties and would get support from them.
The state has three vacancies coming up in the upper house of parliament with Biju Janata Dal’s (BJD) Pyari Mohan Mohapatra, Congress’ Radhakanta Naik and BJP’s Bhagirathi Majhi completing their tenures July 1.
BJD has renominated Mohapatra for the poll to be held June 17. It has also fielded former legislator Sashi Bhusan Behera and its general secretary Baishnab Parida for the other two seats.
In the 147-member assembly, the BJD has 103 members, Congress 27, BJP six, Nationalist Congress Party four and the Communist Party of India one. There are six independent members.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had Sunday said it would abstain from voting for the poll in the state to keep equal distance from BJD and Congress.
