Voting begins for Rajya Sabha election in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: Voting for the Rajya Sabha elections in Odisha began on Monday at the Odisha Legislative Assembly, with polling taking place in Room No. 54. The voting process started at 9 AM and will continue until 4 PM, while the counting of votes is scheduled to begin at 5 PM.

Odisha Health Minister Mukesh Mahaling cast the first vote after the polling process began.

A total of five candidates are contesting for four Rajya Sabha seats from the state. From the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Manmohan Samal and Sujit Kumar are in the race. Santrupt Misra has been nominated by the Biju Janata Dal (BJD).

Independent candidate Dilip Ray is being supported by the BJP. Meanwhile, Dr. Datteshwar Hota has been fielded as the joint candidate of BJD and the Indian National Congress, with support also coming from the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

The fourth Rajya Sabha seat has turned into a keen contest between Dilip Ray and Dr. Datteshwar Hota. The BJP currently has 22 surplus votes, while the combined strength of BJD and Congress stands at 33 votes, making the contest closely watched.

Political parties, including the BJP, BJD and Congress, have been strategizing for the crucial fourth seat over the past few days. As per the election rules, MLAs must show their marked ballot to their respective party agents; otherwise, the vote will be considered invalid.

For the BJP, Deputy Chief Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo and Prithviraj Harichandan have been appointed as party agents. For the BJD, Pratap Keshari Deb is serving as the agent, while Bhakta Charan Das has been appointed as the Congress agent.