Bhubaneswar: Amid charges of horse-trading and cross-voting, Odisha BJP president Manmohan Samal, sitting MP Sujeet Kumar, BJD’s Santrupt Misra and former Union Minister Dilip Ray, who contested as an Independent, were on Monday declared winners in Rajya Sabha election from Odisha.
The BJP-backed Ray and Dr Datteswar Hota, whom the BJD fielded as a common candidate with support from Congress and CPM, were tied with 23 first-preference votes each, which pushed the process into the second-preference votes.
It was “2002 rerun” for the former Union Minister. A close confidant of former CM Biju Patnaik with good rapport with leaders across parties, he again managed to win the Rajya Sabha polls as an Independent candidate despite BJP falling short by eight votes to ensure his victory after winning two seats.
The BJD, after securing one seat, had 18 surplus votes and was hopeful of garnering support for Hota with support from Congress’ 14 MLAs and CPM’s one. However, the plan failed as 11 MLAs – eight from BJD and three from Congress – cross-voted in the election.
In 2002, 15 BJD MLAs were believed to have cross-voted in favour of Ray.
Samal, Kumar, and Misra, on the other hand, secured their seats comfortably, aligning with the pre-poll arithmetic as each candidate required 30 first-preference votes for an outright victory. The BJP with around 82 MLAs, including three Independents, was poised to claim two seats, and the BJD with 48 MLAs one.
Samal’s victory marks a significant boost for the Odisha BJP’s growing influence in Delhi’s corridors of power. He is poised to return to the Rajya Sabha after a 22-year gap. He was unanimously re-elected as Odisha BJP president in July 2025 despite losing the 2024 Assembly election. His leadership is widely regarded as the driving force behind the party’s landmark victory in the 2024 Odisha Assembly polls and its subsequent success in the Nuapada by-elections.
