 "Odisha CM begins campaign for NDA presidential nominee Droupadi Murmu")
Ahead of NDA presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu's Odisha visit to campaign for the July 18 election, ruling BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday sought support of state MLAs for her.
During the day, Patnaik called Congress Legislature Party leader Narasingha Mishra and sought his party MLAs support for the "Odisha daughter" in the presidential poll.
"Spoke to Odisha Congress Legislature Party Leader Shri @NarasinghMishra seeking support for Smt #DroupadiMurmu. It is matter of great pride for Odisha. Appealed him to ensure win of the daughter of #Odisha to the highest office of the country," Patnaik said on Twitter.
When contacted Mishra said it is obvious that the CM would seek support for his candidate.
"The BJD has proposed her candidature," he said.
Asked on Patnaik's appeal to vote for the "Odisha daughter", Mishra said, "There should be no discrimination among the citizens of India."
Several major opposition parties, including the Congress, the NCP and the TMC, fielded former Union minister Yashwant Sinha as their candidate for the upcoming presidential poll.
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Mishra said Sinha was supposed to come on Wednesday, but the programme was cancelled due to health reason.
Patnaik also interacted with the state's lone Independent MLA Makarand Muduli from Rayagada at his residence - Naveen Niwas - and asked him to vote for Murmu.
Noting that Murmu is the pride of Odisha, Muduli said votes of all MLAs and MPs from the state should go in favour of her.
Responding to a question of a reporter, BJP Odisha unit president Samir Mohanty said that Murmu is likely to come here for campaign on July 8.
She is likely to meet BJD and BJP MLAs in the Assembly.
Sources said Murmu will have a one-on-one meeting with the chief minister at his residence in Bhubaneswar.
BJP sources said that the saffron party has planned for a grand function at its headquarters here on the occasion of Murmu's visit to the state.
Murmu will come here after her campaigning in Bihar, Jharkhand and some other states, they said.
Immediately after the announcement of Murmu's name as the NDA candidate for the presidential election, Patnaik had appealed to all the Odisha MLAs cutting across party lines to support the "Odisha daughter".
In the 147-member Odisha Assembly, the BJD has 112 MLAS, BJP 22, Congress nine, CPI(M) one, and an Independent besides two members expelled from the BJD.
The ruling party has 21 MPs - 12 in the Lok sabha and nine in the Rajya Sabha.
The BJP has nine MPs and the Congress has one Lok Sabha MP from Odisha.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)