BJP indulging in horse-trading to win Rajya Sabha election; former CM Naveen Patnaik

Former Prime Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday, March 14, 2026, accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its three candidates of indulging in horse trading ahead of the next Rajya Sabha elections.

“There is horse trading going on where the BJP leaders and their three Rajya Sabha candidates are trying their best to get votes through such means, which, as you know, is a crime to win a democratic election,” Mr. Patnaik said.

BJD MLA and former minister senior Arun Sahoo also echoed the charge, saying a party that does not have sufficient numbers should not claim victory.

“One of the parties does not have the numbers to win the election. But despite this, it has fielded candidates and is supporting them, claiming that they will win. This clearly indicates horse trading, which is far removed from ideology and ethics,” Mr. Sahoo said.

Another BJD legislator Byomkesh Ray claimed that Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi was personally involved in the process of contacting MLAs.

“He is personally calling individual MLAs and making deals at his official residence. This is worrying and shameful. As the Chief Minister, he should not be involved in horse trading,” Mr. Ray said.

Questioning the BJP’s prospects, Mr Ray said: “They have 22 votes, we have 35. How will they get to 30 votes? Without horse-trading, they have no chance of winning.”

In the 147-member Odisha Legislative Assembly, the BJP has 79 MLAs and also enjoys the support of three Independents. The main Opposition party Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has 50 MLAs, but its strength has effectively fallen to 48 after the party suspended Aravind Mohapatra and Sanatan Mahakud over allegations of anti-party activities. The two MLAs are yet to pledge support to any candidate.

While the Congress has 14 MLAs, the sole MLA of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) announced support for the common Opposition candidate.

Each candidate needs the support of 30 MLAs to ensure victory. Going by the numbers, BJD and Congress together can easily get their common candidate elected. However, the BJP falls short of the numbers needed to ensure victory for the saffron party-backed candidate Dilip Ray.

Meanwhile, all political parties are providing poll training to MPs to ensure their votes are not rejected. A group of Congress MLAs have already left for Bengaluru to thwart attempts by rival parties to contact them.