Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has announced the names of its two candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections. One is Santrupt Misra, who contested from Cuttack in the last Lok Sabha elections, and the other is Dr Datteswar Hota.
Party president Naveen Patnaik made the announcement. Dr Hota has not formally joined BJD, while Santrupt Misra joined the party last year and contested from Cuttack as the BJD candidate. His name for the Rajya Sabha had been under discussion earlier, but Dr Hota’s name had also been considered by the Congress. PCC president Bhakta Charan Das had proposed five eminent personalities for Rajya Sabha candidature on behalf of Congress, among whom Dr Hota was included.
BJD does not have the required numbers to elect two candidates on its own. To secure both seats, the party needs 60 first-preference votes from MLAs. Currently, BJD has 48 MLAs, meaning it requires support from 12 more legislators.
On the other hand, Congress has announced support for BJD’s candidate Dr. Datteswar Hota. PCC president Bhakta Charan Das stated that Dr Hota had met him earlier and, being an independent personality, there was no difficulty in extending support to him. Congress has 14 MLAs, and if they vote for Dr Hota, both Santrupt Misra and Dr Datteswar Hota will be elected without difficulty.
