Bhubaneswar: Amid fear of cross-voting during the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Wednesday issued a ‘three-line whip’ to its MLAs, asking them to remain present in Bhubaneswar from March 13-16.
“All MLAs of the Biju Janata Dal are hereby informed that the voting for the Rajya Sabha Elections 2026 will be held on Monday, March 16, from 9 am to 4 pm on the premises of the Odisha Legislative Assembly. The MLAs are directed not to leave HQ and be present in Bhubaneswar from March 13-1 unfailingly. This may be treated as a Three-Line Whip, and strict compliance is solicited,” the note by party whip Pramila Mallik said.
This development came on the heels of the recent defection by former Balasore MP Rabindra Kumar Jena, who joined the BJP amid fierce competition for the fourth Rajya Sabha seat. His resignation sparked significant concern within the BJD regarding its potential repercussio
ns for the upcoming polls, especially since his wife, Subasini Jena, continues to serve as the incumbent BJD MLA from Basta in Balasore district.
Considering the strength of the parties in the 147-member Odisha Assembly post 2024 elections, the ruling BJP with 79 MLAs and the support of three Independents, can comfortably secure two of the four seats for which it has fielded state unit president Manmohan Samal and sitting MP Sujeet Kumar. After securing those, it would have 22 surplus votes, eight short of the threshold needed for a third seat on its own. The BJD, with 48 MLAs following the suspension of two legislators, has enough to win exactly one seat for party president Naveen Patnaik’s political secretary, Santrupt Misra. With 18 surplus votes, the BJD was earlier hopeful that eminent urologist Dr Datteswar Hota, fielded a “common candidate”, could survive the electoral battle with the support of Congress and CPI(M) with 14 and 1 MLAs respectively.
However, the entry of Dilip Ray into the fray as an Independent candidate with the backing of the ruling BJP, and his confidence of securing “conscience votes”, a term often used to justify cross-voting, opened the pandora box for the BJD, with inner cracks reappearing amid its continued struggle to keep its flock together since 2024 elections debacle.