Naveen Patnaik and P.A. Sangma

Bhubaneswar, June 16: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik today reiterated his party’s support for former Lok Sabha Speaker P.A. Sangma in the July 19 presidential polls scotching speculations about a possible change in Biju Janata Dal’s stand on the issue.

“I had said earlier that he is the fittest candidate for the post. I continue to hold that position at this moment,” said Naveen who, sources said, got a call last night from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh apparently seeking the BJD’s support for UPA candidate Pranab Mukherjee.

While the party expects more such calls from Delhi in the run up to the elections, Naveen has, so far, managed to stave off pressure to dump Sangma whose own party, the NCP, has refused to back his candidature.

Sources in the BJD said backing Sangma had become a prestige issue for the Odisha chief minister since he was the first leader to declare his support for the tribal veteran from Meghalaya.

Naveen’s position on Sangma was also reflected in the statements of other senior BJD leaders including finance minister Prafulla Chandra Ghadei, who said the party was one on the issue of backing the Meghalaya strongman though it was keeping a close watch on the developments in Delhi. BJD parliamentary party leader Arjun Charan Sethi said the party would go along with the chief minister’s decision.

Sources in the BJD said Naveen’s reiteration of support for Sangma came in the wake of detailed discussions with senior party leaders, most of whom were of the view that there was no reason for a change in the party’s stand at this moment, especially since the NDA was yet to play its cards. “We are aware of the risks involved in backing Sangma, but backtracking at this stage would mean losing face. I don’t think the chief minister is going to change his stand even after an announcement is made by the NDA,” said a senior BJD leader on condition of anonymity.

A section of party leaders, however, said that at this juncture, they would appreciate a fresh statement from Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa expressing support for Sangma as she and Naveen had been working together to garner support for the former Lok Sabha speaker.

Jayalalithaa has not spoken on the issue since her recent meeting with BJP leader L.K. Advani in Chennai.

Sources said in view of the fact that voting for the election of the president would be through secret ballot, senior BJD leaders were working overtime to ensure that there was no cross-voting by the party MLAs.

The party is not taking any chances considering that the loyalty of a section of leaders has become suspect in the wake of the failed coup against the chief minister. While the party would issue a whip on the eve of polling as a matter of routine, the chief minister would entrust his core team with the job of keeping an eye on the suspect MLAs.