Bhubaneswar: Odisha BJP unit president Manmohan Samal on Friday rubbished reports that he was in the race for the lone Rajya Sabha seat, which will go to polls on December 30.
Speaking to reports, Samal said that this is a figment of someone’s imagination. “The party parliament board will take a formal decision in this regard soon,” he added.
The seat in Odisha fell vacant after BJD MP Sujeet Kumar resigned from the Upper House of Parliament. He joined the BJP on September 6, 2024, shortly after being expelled by BJD for “anti-party” activities. He was elected to Rajya Sabha on April 3, 2020, and his term would have ended on April 2, 2026.
According to party insiders, the saffron party may renominate Surjeet for the seat.
In The Past…
Samal’s name also did the rounds in August ahead the by-election to lone Rajya Sabha seat from Odisha, which had then fallen vacant following the resignation of former BJD MP Mamata Mohanta. These talks gathered momentum since Samal, who was credited for BJP storming to power in Odisha by securing 78 seats in the assembly, suffered defeat in Chandbali segment to BJD’s Byomakesh Ray by a margin of 1,916 votes. The BJP, however, renominated her Mamata its candidate for the seat.
Renomination?
This vacant seat will also go to BJP given its numerical strength of 78 MLAs in 147-member Vidhan Sabha in Odisha. It is, however, to be seen if the party will follow the set precedence and renominate Sujeet Kumar.
A native of Kalahandi district, Sujeet was once perceived to be very close to BJD president Naveen Patnaik’s close aide V K Pandian. His resignation diminished BJD’s strength in the Upper House to seven members, while the party currently has no representation in the Lok Sabha.
Upcoming RS Polls
The last date for filing of nomination papers is December 10. Scrutiny of nominations will be done on December 11. The last date for withdrawal of candidature will be December 13. The bypoll will be conducted between 9 am and 4 pm on December 20. Counting of votes will be done at 5 pm the same day.
