Bhubaneswar, August 10, 2018: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday dialled Odisha Chief Minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik and thanked him for supporting NDA candidate Harivansh Narayan Singh, who was elected as Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman on Thursday.
As per a report, the courtesy call between the two leaders lasted a few minutes. Singh secured 125 votes as against 105 of opposition nominee BK Hariprasad (Congress) in a House of 244 besides the Chairman.
Bihar Chief Minister and JD (U) president Nitish Kumar also telephoned Patnaik and thanked him for the support. Notably, Harivansh was a JD (U) member in the Upper House picked up by the NDA for the top post.
Earlier in August first week, Modi and Kumar also telephoned Patnaik seeking his support for Singh.
Notably, the BJD and BJP have been at loggerheads over slew of issues in Odisha with both the parties targeting each other. BJD has nine members in the Rajya Sabha. A party would require at least 122 votes to win the Deputy Chairman election in the House with a total member of 245.
