BJD to Meet Odisha CEO on May 11 Over Rajya Sabha Poll Irregularity Allegations

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) has scheduled a meeting with a delegation of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on May 11 to discuss alleged irregularities in the Rajya Sabha elections held on March 16, according to an official communication issued on Tuesday.

As per a letter from Joint CEO Gopinath Kuanr to BJD MP Sasmit Patra, the party delegation has been invited to meet the CEO at 11:00 am to deliberate on concerns raised earlier. The issues stem from an email submitted by the BJD on March 18, alleging procedural violations during the polling process.

The controversy centres on claims that two legislators of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were issued duplicate ballot papers during voting. The MLAs named in the complaint are Upasana Mohapatra and Purna Chandra Sethi.

Earlier, on April 28, Patra had written to Election Commission official Gyanesh Kumar seeking intervention, alleging that the conduct of the polls had been compromised due to the issuance of duplicate ballots.

Subsequently, in a communication dated April 29, Rajendra Kumar Singh requested the Odisha CEO to arrange an urgent meeting with the BJD delegation to examine the matter, leading to the scheduling of the May 11 discussion.

The BJD has constituted a five-member team to present its case, led by Prasanna Acharya, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Odisha Assembly. Other members include Pramila Mallik, Pratap Keshari Deb, Arun Kumar Sahoo, and Sasmit Patra.

In a statement, the party reiterated its demand for immediate statutory action over the alleged irregularities and called for a fair and transparent inquiry to safeguard the integrity of the electoral process.