Bhubaneswar: The ruling BJD in Odisha will support the NDA speaker candidate for Lok Sabha Om Birla. The BJD has passed a resolution to this effect on Tuesday. Birla is the senior BJP leader from Rajasthan.

The BJD parliamentary party leader Pinaki Mishra Tuesday said that his party will support the candidature of Om Birla who is the official candidate of NDA for the Lok Sabha speaker post.

“Constructive cooperation with the Centre”, quipped Mishra when asked how come the BJD is supporting its arch rival in the state BJP in the speakers’s elections. “They have sought our cooperation and we decided to support the NDA which has a massive majority in the Lower House.

Besides BJD, nine other parties including YSR Congress Party, AIADMK, National People’s Party, Mizo National Front, Lok Janshakti Party, JDU and Apna Dal have announced their support for Birla.

On news that the BJP is offering the deputy speaker post to BJD’s Bhatruhari Mehtab, Mishra said, “The discussion over the deputy speaker post will arise only after the speaker election”.