Bhubaneswar, May 26 -- In a queer twist, the game-plan of CM Naveen Patnaik and BJD strategists to pit a record number of Rajya Sabha (RS) members in the 2019 polls seems proving counterproductive for the party.
What bothers the party strategists is the united opposition now has the numbers to wrest a RS seat from BJD, courtesy the party's game-plan of deploying as many as six RS members into the battle of 2019. As four of them have emerged winners in the poll, the party strategists seem to be in a huddle now over this new equation.
During the 2019 polls, anticipating an intense contest in Odisha, the strategists in the party decided to deploy Rajya Sabha members in the battlefield. The party had pitted as many as six RS members this elec...