Congress' Biswal pips BJD's sculptor to RS finish line

BHUBANESWAR: Congress on Friday got cricketer and IPL chairman Ranjib Biswal elected to the Rajya Sabha defeating his BJD-backed rival in a fierce battle that had for the past few days kept the state's political atmosphere fraught with anxiety and nervousness.

Though three official BJD candidates - Kalpataru Das, Sarojini Hembrum (both ministers), A U Singhdeo - were elected to the Upper House, Biswal's victory all but took away the smile from the ruling party. He polled 29 first preference votes against 20 by noted sculptor Raghunath Mohapatra, a novice in politics, who had joined the fray as an independent candidate backed by BJD.

"It is sad," chief minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik said on Mohapatra's defeat. The strongest reaction came from Ranjib himself. "I did not win. The Congress party won. The outcome of the election has exposed the corrupt and unethical practices of chief minister Naveen Patnaik. He gained over an independent MLA, who has a vigilance case against him, and another who was my proposer. But the truth finally triumphed," Biswal said. Party president Jayadev Jena described Ranjib's win as "victory over black money and horse trading".

The BJD had made elaborate preparations for Mohapatra's victory. Party MLA Ramesh Chandra Chyau Patnaik was brought from hospital in an ambulance with saline and oxygen apparatus fitted to the Assembly. He was carried to the first floor on a stretcher to cast his vote. The BJD also managed to woo BJP despite the latter describing it along with Congress as 'enemy No 1'. After marathon meetings, five MLAs from the saffron brigade turned up to cast their votes. Suspended BJP MLA Bhimsen Choudhury, however, refused to go by the party diktat and voted for Ranjib, while Manoj Pradhan (G Udayagiri) did not vote.

Even all this, curiously, did not ensure Mohapatra's victory. Enquiries revealed that many BJD legislators, reportedly apprehensive of cross voting, cast more votes for their official candidates. The BJD has 108 MLAs in the 147-member Assembly and the party had distributed 30 votes for each of its three candidates, leaving 18 for Mohapatra. But counting showed Kalpataru Das and A U Singhdeo got 33 votes each and Hembrum 31. "The BJD ditched Mohapatra. The chief minister is responsible as he had personally chosen him. He (Naveen) backstabbed him (Mohapatra) as he did to us before the 2009 elections," BJP president K V Singhdeo said.