The turn of events in Orissa politics has stumped the Congress Party and paved the ground for its complete destruction in the state. Take the case of Odisha Rajya Sabha polls. Both the BJP and the BJD reached an understanding. Following this understanding, BJP announced the candidature of former IAS officer Ashwini Vaishnav who had worked in the Vajpayee PMO as the late PM's private secretary.

Shortly after the BJP named the ex-bureaucrat as its candidate for the July 5 Rajya Sabha bypolls, Odisha Chief Minister and BJD chief Naveen Patnaik announced his party's support to Vaishnav.

Vaishnav has enjoyed cordial relations with Patnaik, whose Biju Janata Dal (BJD) was an ally of the BJP during the Vajpayee era.

Patnaik himself had served as a minister in the Vajpayee government before he became the chief minister of Odisha in 2000.

The BJP-BJD understanding will not only deny any Congressman to win a RS seat from Odisha but may also compel its assembly members to switch sides.