In a closely contested biennial Rajya Sabha election marked by preference transfers and high political drama, Independent candidate Dilip Ray emerged victorious for the fourth seat from Odisha after a series of vote redistributions.
The election, held for four seats with five candidates in the fray, saw all 147 MLAs exercising their franchise at the Odisha Assembly between 9 AM and 4 PM. Counting commenced in the evening, revealing an intense battle for the final position.
Under the single transferable vote system, each MLA’s vote carries a value of 100. With 147 MLAs, the quota for election was 2,941 vote value points (equivalent to the support of roughly 30 first-preference votes).
First-preference votes stood as follows: Manmohan Samal received 35 votes (3,500 points), Sujeet Kumar 35 votes (3,500 points), Dr. Santrupta Mishra 31 votes (3,100 points), Dr. Datteswar Hota 23 votes (2,300 points), and Dilip Ray 23 votes (2,300 points).
Manmohan Samal and Sujeet Kumar, both BJP nominees, comfortably crossed the quota with their first-preference support and were declared elected early in the process.
Santrupta Mishra, the BJD candidate, also secured his seat with 3,100 points, surpassing the required 2,941.
The real contest unfolded for the fourth seat between BJP-backed Independent Dilip Ray and BJD’s Dr. Datteswar Hota, both starting with 2,300 points.
In the subsequent rounds, surplus second-preference votes from elected candidates were transferred. Notably, when Sujeet Kumar’s surplus went to Dilip Ray (adding 559 points), Ray’s tally rose to 2,859. Manmohan Samal’s surplus second preferences later transferred to Ray as well.
After final redistributions, Dilip Ray reached 3,418 points, comfortably above the quota, while Dr. Datteswar Hota remained at 2,300 points.
The Returning Officer declared Dilip Ray elected for the fourth seat. Newly elected members, including Ray, received their certificates of election from the Returning Officer.
The outcome represents a significant boost for the ruling BJP, which secured three seats (two direct and one through its backed Independent), amid allegations of cross-voting in the 147-member Assembly where BJP holds 79 MLAs plus Independents’ support.
This election, the first contested Rajya Sabha poll in Odisha after 12 years, highlighted intense political manoeuvring between the BJP and the opposition BJD-Congress combine.
