BJP Fields Debashish Samantray for Odisha Rajya Sabha Bypoll; Voting on June 18

Bhubaneswar: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday announced Debashish Samantray as its candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha by-election from Odisha, setting the stage for the contest over the lone vacant seat in the state.

After being named the party’s nominee, Samantray expressed gratitude to the BJP leadership for placing faith in him. “The BJP has placed faith in me. I will do whatever is required for the development of the state,” he told reporters.

The by-election follows the Election Commission of India notification announcing biennial elections to 24 Rajya Sabha seats across 10 states, along with bypolls to three seats from Odisha, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu.

As per the schedule, polling will be held on June 18 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., with counting of votes beginning at 5 p.m. on the same day.

The nomination process began on June 1 and will continue till June 8. Scrutiny of nominations will take place on June 9, while the last date for withdrawal of candidature is June 11.

Alongside the Rajya Sabha polls, elections will also be held for nine seats and one by-election to the Bihar Legislative Council, as well as seven seats of the Karnataka Legislative Council.

With the BJP naming its candidate, attention now shifts to the upcoming nominations and the electoral process leading to the June 18 voting.