India, Sept. 8 -- The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Odisha on Monday announced that it will abstain from the Vice President election on Tuesday.

"Biju Janata Dal has decided to abstain from the vice presidential elections tomorrow. The Biju Janata Dal remains equidistant from both the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) alliances. We are focused on the development and welfare of Odisha and 4.5 crore people of Odisha", BJD's Rajya Sabha leader Sasmit Patra said on Monday.

According to functionaries, the political affairs committee of the BJD had met last week and urged party president Naveen Patnaik not to side with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as it would weaken the party's ...