No candidate withdraws from Odisha RS poll race, stage set for contest after 12 years

Bhubaneswar, Mar 9 (PTI) No candidate withdrew from the race for the Rajya Sabha elections in Odisha on the last day for withdrawal of nominations on Monday, leaving five nominees in the fray for four seats and setting the stage for a contest after a gap of 12 years, officials said.

The candidates in the fray are Manmohan Samal and Sujeet Kumar of the BJP, Santrupt Misra and urologist Datteswar Hota of the BJD, and Independent nominee Dilip Ray.

Voting will be held on March 16 from 9 am to 4 pm, while counting of votes will take place at 5 pm the same day, an official said, adding, the election process will conclude by March 20.

The last Rajya Sabha election in Odisha that required voting was held in 2014 when five candidates contested for four seats.

According to the current numbers in the 147-member Odisha assembly, the ruling BJP is expected to comfortably secure two seats, while the opposition BJD is likely to win one. The fourth seat is expected to witness a contest.

The BJP has fielded Samal and Kumar as its official candidates and extended support to Independent candidate Ray. The Congress and the CPI(M) have announced support for Hota, triggering apprehensions of cross-voting.

As per the electoral arithmetic, a candidate requires at least 30 first-preference votes to secure a seat.

The BJP has 79 MLAs in the assembly and enjoys support of three Independents. The BJD has 48 MLAs after suspension of two of its members last month, while the Congress has 14 MLAs and the CPI(M) one.

Odisha Congress president Bhakta Charan Das said the party held the first training session for its MLAs on Monday, and will organise two more ahead of the polling.

“Our MLAs are committed to vote for the common candidate,” he said.

BJD MLA Dhruba Charan Sahoo alleged that the BJP was encouraging “horse trading” by supporting an Independent candidate despite lacking sufficient numbers.

Senior Congress MLA Taraprasad Bahinipati asserted that all 14 Congress MLAs would vote for Hota, while BJP legislator Ashok Mohanty expressed confidence that the saffron party and the Independent candidate it supports would win three of the four seats.

The biennial polls are being held as the terms of Rajya Sabha members Niranjan Bishi, Munna Khan (BJD), Sujeet Kumar and Mamata Mohanta (BJP) are set to expire on April 2. PTI AAM RBT