BHUBANESWAR: BJP’s Mamata Mohanta on Tuesday was elected to Rajya Sabha unopposed following withdrawal of nomination papers by Independent candidate Jagannath Pradhan. The by-election to the Upper House was scheduled on September 3.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, his cabinet colleagues and BJP MLAs congratulated Mohanta after the election officer of the Assembly announced her election to the Rajya Sabha.
Talking to mediapersons after receiving her certificate from Assembly secretary and election officer, Mohanta once again thanked the BJP leadership for nominating her to the Upper House of the Parliament. She said her only aim is to serve the people of the state and Maryubhanj district which she belongs to.
“I am happy that the BJP has given me an opportunity to work for the people of my district. I express my gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for sanctioning three railway projects for Mayurbhanj district,” she said.
A senior BJP leader, Pradhan, who unsuccessfully contested the Assembly election from Bhubaneswar-Central constituency, had filed his nomination for the lone Rajya Sabha seat from the state as an Independent shortly after Mohanta submitted her papers as the official candidate of the party on August 21. Nomination papers of both the candidates were found valid during scrutiny.
“I had filed the nomination papers on the instruction of the party. Now the party has directed me to withdrew my nomination. As a disciplined worker of the party, I have followed the directive,” Pradhan told mediapersons.
The by-election to the Rajya Sabha from the state was necessitated following resignation of Mohanta on July 31, nearly two years before completion of her tenure. She was elected to the Upper House on April 3, 2020, as a BJD candidate.
A prominent leader of the Kudumi community from Mayurbhanj district, Mohanta had resigned from the primary membership of the BJD and joined BJP on August 1.