BHUBANESWAR: The Central Election Committee of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday named State BJP president Manmohan Samal and sitting Upper House member Sujeet Kumar as the party’s candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections from Odisha, setting the stage for a contest after senior leader Dilip Ray declared he would enter the fray as an Independent.
Welcoming the decision, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi congratulated the two leaders in a post on X. “I extend my heartfelt congratulations and best wishes to Hon’ble State President Shri @SamalManmohan7 and senior party leader Shri @SujeetKOfficial on being nominated as the BJP’s Rajya Sabha candidates from Odisha,” Majhi said.
Soon after the announcement, senior BJP leader and former Union minister Dilip Ray declared that he would contest as an Independent candidate for a Rajya Sabha seat from Odisha.
Speaking to private news channels, Ray said he would file his nomination papers on March 5, the last date for filing nominations.
Ray said he had held discussions with the BJP leadership at both the State and central levels prior to announcing his decision.
Asked whether he was confident of securing support from legislators of the Opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the Congress, Ray remained guarded. “I will throw light on my strategy after filing nomination on March 5,” he said.
A founding member of the BJD and a former minister in the Naveen Patnaik-led coalition government, Ray has a history of defying political odds. In 2002, days before the Rajya Sabha elections, he was expelled from the BJD by party president Naveen Patnaik.
Despite the setback, Ray contested as an Independent and secured victory to the Upper House, reportedly aided by cross voting from legislators of the BJD and its then ally, the BJP, along with support from Congress and other members.
With the BJP formally backing two candidates and Ray entering the race independently, the contest for the remaining seat is expected to witness intense political manoeuvring in the days leading up to the polls.
Earlier, the BJD had named Santrupt Misra and Dr Datteswar Hota despite being short of numbers. With its numerical strength of 50 members, including two suspended legislators, in the Odisha Legislative Assembly, the regional party can comfortably elect one candidate to the Rajya Sabha.
It will fall short of 12 members to elect Hota, who said he is contesting as an Independent and seeks the blessings of MLAs from all parties.