In a significant political development, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged victorious in three out of four Rajya Sabha seats from Odisha in the biennial elections held today, marking the state’s first contested Upper House polls after a gap of 12 years.
The winners are:
- Manmohan Samal (BJP state president)
- Sujeet Kumar (sitting BJP Rajya Sabha member)
- Dilip Ray (BJP-backed independent candidate and former Union minister)
- Santrupt Mishra (Biju Janata Dal nominee)
The BJP, which holds a strong majority in the 147-member Odisha Assembly with around 79 MLAs plus independent support, comfortably secured the first two seats for its official candidates. The real contest unfolded for the remaining two seats, where cross-voting played a decisive role.
According to reports, as many as 11 MLAs — six from the opposition BJD, two suspended BJD members, and three from Congress — cast their votes in favour of BJP-backed independent Dilip Ray. This rebellion ensured Ray’s victory over the BJD-Congress-CPI(M) joint candidate, eminent urologist Dr Datteswar Hota, who was positioned as a common opposition nominee to prevent a BJP clean sweep.
BJD’s Santrupt Mishra won his seat with the support of the party’s remaining loyal MLAs, bagging the required preference votes.
The elections saw intense drama, including allegations of horse-trading, vote-buying accusations from the opposition, and a temporary halt in voting over ballot paper disputes. A minor scuffle between BJD and BJP MLAs was also reported during the process.
This outcome reflects the BJP’s strengthened grip on Odisha politics following its historic victory in the 2024 Assembly elections, which ended the 24-year rule of the BJD under Naveen Patnaik.
The cross-voting highlights internal dissent within the opposition ranks and potential cracks in the BJD-Congress understanding.
