Bhubaneswar: Another BJP leader Jagannath Pradhan on Wednesday filed nomination for Rajya Sabha by-election in Odisha, over an hour after party nominee Mamata Mahanta did so before the returning officer in Bhubaneswar.
Sources said Pradhan filed nominations as an independent candidate for Rajya Sabha by-election before the returning officer in the Odisha Assembly in the afternoon in the presence of several leaders, including MLAs.
Pradhan had contested the recent Assembly elections from Bhubaneswar-Central seat. However, he was defeated by BJD’s Ananta Narayan Jena by a very thin margin of votes.
While some BJP MLAs were proposers in Pradhan’s nomination, it is not clear as to why he filed the papers for the RS bypoll as the saffron party has officially nominated Mamata Mahanta for the seat.
Observers said Pradhan appeared to have filed nomination as a dummy candidate of BJP as part of a protective measure. The move seeks to provide a safety cushion.
Earlier, Mahanta filed nominations for Rajya Sabha by-election before the returning officer in the presence of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, BJP state unit president Manmohan Samal and Odisha in-charge Vijaypal Singh Tomar.
Putting all speculation to rest, the BJP on Tuesday nominated Mamata for the seat from Odisha, which fell vacant after she resigned from the Upper House to which she was sent by the then ruling BJD on April 3, 2020, with 18 months left for the end of her 6-year term. The tribal leader from Kudumi community of Mayurbhanj district also quit the regional party on July 31 citing neglect and joined the BJP a day later.
Mamata is almost certain to win the seat since the BJP has 78 MLAs in the 147-member Assembly and also the support of three Independent MLAs. The BJD and the Congress have 51 and 14 MLAs respectively. Along with one CPM member, the Opposition does not have the numbers to corner the seat.
The saffron party has one member in the Upper House from Odisha – Ashwini Vaishnaw, who was elected earlier this year with support from the BJD.
Election for the 12 vacant seats in the Rajya Sabha including the lone seat from Odisha will be held on September 3.
