Bhubaneswar: Putting all speculations to rest, Odisha's main Opposition party, Biju Janata Dal (BJD), on Monday announced that its MPs will abstain from voting in the vice-presidential election. The BJD MPs had in 2012 too abstained from voting in the vice-presidential election in which Hamid Ansari had won.

"BJD president Naveen Patnaik has decided that the party's MPs will abstain from voting in the vice-presidential election. He took the decision after consulting senior party leaders, members of the political affairs committee (PAC) and lawmakers," BJD Rajya Sabha member Sasmit Patra told reporters here. Patra said the BJD maintains an equal distance from both the NDA and the INDIA bloc.

Reacting to the BJD's decision, senior BJP leader and Union minister Jual Oram said, "By deciding that BJD MPs will abstain from voting, Naveen babu has indirectly supported the NDA candidate."