BJP Names Ex-BJD MP Mamata Mahanta As Candidate For RS Bypoll In Odisha

Bhubaneswar: As expected, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday nominated Mamata Mahanta as its candidate for the Rajya Sabha bypoll in Odisha.

While announcing names of its candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha by-elections, the BJP nominated Mamata Mahanta, who had joined the saffron party recently after resigning from the from the BJD as well as the Rajya Sabha.

The tribal leader of Kudumi community was the first choice of the BJP for the Upper House though several other names were also doing the rounds for the upcoming bypoll.

The Rajya Sabha byelection will be held on September 3, as per the notification issued by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

Mahanta was elected to Rajya Sabha as a BJD candidate in April 2020 and only 18 months was left for the end of her 6-year term.

Her sudden decision came as a surprise for the regional party. “I feel that there is no requirement of the services of myself as well as my community in the BJD,” she wrote in her letter to BJD president Naveen Patnaik.

The BJP is almost certain of winning the Rajya Sabha bypoll in the state as it has 78 members in the 147-member Assembly.