Bhubaneswar: All eyes are on MLAs, who may abstain or defy the party whip, during polling for 4 Rajya Sabha seats from Odisha on Monday.
Chief Minister Mohan Majhi and other cabinet ministers were the first to reach the Odisha Legislative Assembly to cast their votes. Voting will continue till 4 pm with counting scheduled for 5 pm the same day.
Five candidates are in fray for the four seats. BJP has fielded state president Manmohan Samal and sitting MP Sujeet Kumar besides backing independent Dilip Ray for the third seat. BJD has nominated Santrupt Misra as its primary candidate and Dr Datteswar Hota as a common candidate backed by Congress and CPM.
In the 147-member Assembly, the BJP holds a commanding position with 82 votes (79 MLAs plus three supporting independents) and is poised to comfortably claim two seats. The BJD, with its 48 MLAs, can comfortably secure Santrupt Misra’s victory through at least 30 first-preference votes. The outcome for the fourth of four seats hangs in the balance and has turned into a major prestige showdown between the opposition’s joint candidate, Dr. Datteswar Hota, and the BJP-backed independent, Dilip Ray. Hota’s chances depend on securing the backing of the 14 Congress MLAs, the lone CPI(M) legislator, and the remaining BJD MLAs, provided no defections occur.
Sunday saw high drama in Opposition camps as the BJD issued showcause notices to Baliguda MLA Chakramani Kanhar and Jayadev MLA Naba Kishore Mallick for staying away from three key party briefings ahead of vote. Suspended MLAs Arvind Mohapatra and Sanatan Mahakud were also instructed to strictly comply with party whip. The party warned that voting against the whip may attract action under the anti-defection law.
In in faraway Bengaluru, four men were arrested for allegedly trying to bribe Odisha Congress MLAs, who were moved to a resort there on Thursday-Friday, to vote in favour of BJP, which has denied the charge. Congress has also issued a show-cause notice to Mohana MLA Dasarathi Gomango, who went incommunicado amid reports that he was heading for Bengaluru via Visakhapatnam after missing the flight which 8 legislators took accompanied by OPCC president Bhakta Das.
“The BJP is a corrupt party and this is clearly evident. When the BJP has only 22 MLAs, how did they field a fourth candidate when 30 MLAs are required for a Rajya Sabha MP. Dilip Ray, whom they have made their candidate, committed corruption to benefit a private company while serving as Coal Minister during the NDA regime… A CBI investigation took place in the case, a charge sheet was filed in court, and on October 6, 2020, he was convicted and sentenced to 3 years in prison. He went to the High Court on April 8, 2024, and the High Court stayed the order, since then the case has been pending… Why did the BJP make him a candidate?… This shows that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, and Nitin Gadkari stand with a corrupt individual… The Congress party will approach the Supreme Court against Dilip Ray,” Odisha Congress in-charge Ajay Kumar Lallu told reporters.
Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik had earlier accused the BJP of resorting to horse-trading in an attempt to ensure the victory of its three candidates in the upcoming polls.
Meanwhile, BJP MLAs, who were put up in a hotel in port town of Paradip, arrived Bhubaneswar by bus this m orning. The MLAs underwent training on the voting process there to ensure that their votes would not be rejected. A total of 82 MLAs in the Assembly are first-timers, who have never participated in a Rajya Sabha election.
While a total of 37 seats across 10 states are going to polls, 26 candidates have already secured victory unopposed. Voting will now take place for 11 seats – five from Bihar, four from Odisha, and two from Haryana.
