Rajya Sabha Elections: BJD Chief Naveen Patnaik Nominates Candidates For 2 Out Of 3 Seats

Odisha Chief Minister and BJD President Naveen Patnaik nominated two names for the upcoming biennial Rajya Sabha polls

Odisha Chief Minister and BJD President Naveen Patnaik has announced the nomination of former party MLA Debasish Samantray and BJD leader Subhasish Khuntia as the party's candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections in the state. The move comes as the terms of Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and BJD leaders Prasant Nanda and Amar Patnaik in the Rajya Sabha are set to end in April.

"While the poll will be held for three seats, the BJD has so far nominated two names. The party may come up with another name in the next one to two days," a notification stated.

In the 2019 Rajya Sabha polls, the ruling BJD had supported Vaishnaw. Presently, the Odisha Assembly consists of 109 BJD MLAs (four of whom have been expelled from the party), 22 BJP members, and nine Congress lawmakers. Additionally, there is one Independent MLA and one MLA from the CPI(M).

The 147-member assembly currently has one vacant seat following the demise of BJD MLA Surjya N Patro, for which no election has been held.

Rajya Sabha Election 2024

Last week, the Election Commission announced that the biennial Rajya Sabha polls will be held on February 27 for 56 seats, as the tenure of incumbents including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and BJP President J P Nadda will end in April. The vacancies also include seats held by nine Union ministers including Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav, and Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.

The nomination process will begin on February 8 with the issuance of the notification. February 15 will be the last date for filing nominations while February 20 is the last date to withdraw candidature. As per the established practice, while voting will take place from 9 am to 4 pm, the counting will be held on the same day from 5 pm onwards.

According to the Election Commission, 50 members retire on April 2, while six do so on April 3.

Uttar Pradesh will have the highest number of vacancies of 10 seats, followed by Maharashtra and Bihar (six each), Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal (five each), Karnataka and Gujarat (four each), Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Rajasthan (three each), and Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, and Chhattisgarh (one each).