Odia Businessman Harihara Mahapatra Out Of Jharkhand Rajya Sabha Race

Ranchi: Mumbai-based Odia businessman Harihara Mahapatra is out of Rajya Sabha race in Jharkhand having failed to get a proposer.

It was earlier reported that the businessman, who hail from Odisha, had bought the nomination papers on March 7 and might contest the biennial Rajya Sabha elections from the state with the support of BJP. The seats will fall vacant with the tenure of BJP’s Samir Oraon and Congress’ Dhiraj Prasad Sahu in Upper House of Parliament ending on May 3.

However, the BJP nominated Jharkhand general secretary Pradeep Verma as NDA candidate for the upcoming polls while Sarfaraz Ahmed is the candidate of the JMM-led ruling coalition. And their elections to the Upper House is a foregone conclusion, considering the numbers that the parties enjoy.

The nomination process, which commenced on March 4, concluded on March 11, with the deadline for withdrawal of candidature set for March 14. Polling is scheduled to take place between 9 am and 4 pm on March 21 at the Jharkhand Assembly premises, with counting slated for the same day at 5 pm.

Harihara had grabbed headlines in December last year when he and his wife Preeti acquired 19 per cent stake in the low-cost airline SpiceJet with an investment of Rs 1,100 crore, making them the biggest investors in the new fundraising by the airline. Harihara hails from Odisha and he moved to Mumbai to become a builder, while his wife is from Vadodara.

Also Read: Know Odisha-Born Businessman Harihara Mahapatra & Wife Preeti Set To Acquire 19% In SpiceJet

In 2016, backed by the BJP, Preeti unsuccessfully ran as an independent candidate in Rajya Sabha election from Uttar Pradesh, challenging (then) Congress leader Kapil Sibal.

Notably, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who hails from Talcher in Odisha, is a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha representing Madhya Pradesh.