BHUBANESWAR: Hockey legend and former India captain Dilip Tirkey dribbled past a number of prospective candidates, including some front-runners, to be named as the first candidate of the BJD for the March 30 Rajya Sabha polls.Chief Minister and BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik on Friday announced the names of two BJD candidates, including Tirkey. The second candidate emerged as the dark horse __ Rabi Narayan Mohapatra, president of the party’s Nayagarh district unit. Former speaker of the Assembly Kishore Kumar Mohanty, who will retire from Rajya Sabha on April 3, has not been re-nominated by the BJD. The Chief Minister said the BJD will not field a third candidate as it does not have the assurance of support from the NCP and the CPI.While the ruling BJD has 103 members in the 147-member Assembly, there are four NCP members and one CPI legislator. The BJD also has the support an Independent. The Congress has 27 members and the BJP six and support of an Independent. Besides, there are three Independents.Naveen said Tirkey, a three-time Olympian, would raise issues concerning the youths in Parliament. Describing Mohapatra a selfless social worker, Naveen said he has been associated with the party since the days of legendary Biju Patnaik.“He was a very long-time associate of Biju Babu. He was associated with the party when I was not in politics,” the Chief Minister said. Besides Mohanty, the terms of Sushila Tiriya (Cong) and Rudranarayan Pany (BJP) will be over on April 3. The BJD will have 29 surplus votes after the victory of its two candidates. Attempts are being made for a consensus candidate for the third seat. Two senior BJP leaders __ Bijay Mohapatra and Suresh Pujari __ have proposed that the third candidate be chosen from a panel of candidates endorsed by all political parties. Sources, however, maintained that the BJD, with the highest number of votes for a third candidate, will have the final say _ float the name of the Independent.
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