"BJD working in tandem with BJP": Congress' Srikant Jena hits out at Naveen Patnaik's party for abstaining from voting in VP election

Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], September 10 (ANI): Former Union Minister and Congress leader Srikant Kumar Jena hit out at the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) over its decision to abstain from voting in the Vice Presidential election, accusing the Naveen Patnaik-led regional party of working in "tandem with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)".
Jena argued that the BJD helped NDA candidate CP Radhakrishnan in securing victory for the post of Vice President by not participating in the voting process.
"NDA had more numbers over the INDIA bloc. There must be a contest in a democracy. It was an ideological fight. Therefore, the INDIA bloc voted unitedly. From the beginning, everyone knew that NDA had numbers. However, the BJD in the process has been exposed. By not participating in the elections, they practically helped the NDA candidate. People in Odisha will ask them why they abstained. It looks like BJD is working in tandem with the BJP," Jena told ANI.
"The BRS have made their own decision. They are also in a fix," he said while welcoming the newly elected Vice President of India. "We all welcome and respect CP Radhakrishnan."
The remarks come as the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) abstained from voting in the Vice Presidential election, while Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) decided not to participate. Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) had announced that it will "boycott" the poll, given that people in Punjab are "upset and angry" over no help from the Centre and the state government.
National Democratic Alliance-backed CP Radhakrishnan was elected as the 15th Vice President of India on Tuesday.
The Vice President-elect, who has had a political career spanning over five decades, defeated the Opposition INDIA bloc's joint candidate, retired Supreme Court judge B Sudershan Reddy, by a margin of 152 votes.
Radhakrishnan received 452 first preference votes, whereas Sudershan Reddy secured 300 first preference votes. 15 votes were considered invalid.
Thirteen MPs abstained from voting in the Vice Presidential elections. The list includes seven MPs from Biju Janata Dal, four from Bharath Rashtra Samithi, one MP from Shiromani Akali Dal and one independent MP.
Following CP Radhakrishnan's win, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited his residence in the national capital and extended his greetings. PM Modi's visit was followed by Union Ministers Kiren Rijiju, Pralhad Joshi, JP Nadda and others.
Following the results, B Sudershan Reddy extended warm wishes to NDA's CP Radhakrishnan after he was elected the 15th Vice President of India.
In a statement following the Vice Presidential election result, Reddy said that he will continue his ideological battle with even "greater vigour" despite the result not being in his favour.
The Vice President's seat had been vacant since July 21 following the resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar due to health reasons.
Before being elected as India's 15th Vice President, CP Radhakrishnan was serving as the Governor of Maharashtra since July 31, 2024. (ANI)