Bhubaneswar: Sujeet Kumar, a former Rajya Sabha MP who switched sides from the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) to the BJP, is the lone candidate for the bypoll to the Upper House of Parliament from Odisha, a notification issued by Odisha Legislative Assembly said on Tuesday.
Sujeet filed the papers on Monday in presence of Chief Minister Mohan Majhi and BJP state president Manmohan Samal after his name was formally announced by the BJP’s Central Election Committee.
Neither the BJD nor the Congress has put up candidates against him.
Had there been a contest for this seat which he earlier vacated, Sujeet would have anyhow got elected given the BJP’s numerical strength of 78 MLAs in 147-member Vidhan Sabha in Odisha.
This will be his second term as Rajya Sabha member and his tenure will continue till April 2026.
The Election Commission of India (ECI)) had on November 26 announced by-election to six Rajya Sabha seats, including one from Odisha. December 10 was the last date for filing of nominations and voting was scheduled to be held on December 20, if necessary.
Notably, this seat from Odisha had fallen vacant following the resignation of Sujeet, who was then a BJD member in the Upper House of Parliament. He also resigned from BJD and joined the saffron party in September.
The saffron party followed the same strategy, which it had adopted to send former BJD MP Mamata Mohanta to Rajya Sabha as its candidate. A senior tribal leader from Mayurbhanj district, she resigned from the Rajya Sabha as well as BJD on July 31 and then joined the BJP the following day. She was subsequently elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha as a BJP member.
Sujeet was another strategic political acquisition from the opposition party.
With this, the BJP’s strength in the Upper House will go up to three. On the other hand, BJD’s number has diminished to seven in Rajya Sabha with no representation in the Lok Sabha.
