Finance
Odisha’s Rajya Sabha elections were held on Monday, with predicted victories and surprising cross-voting. Notably, independent candidate Dilip Ray and BJD-Congress-CPI(M) coalition candidate Datteswar Hota both earned 23 first-preference votes.
Manmohan Samal, head of the Odisha BJP unit, and Sujeet Kumar, a sitting MP, won on the party’s official ticket, receiving 35 votes each in the 147-member Odisha Assembly. Dilip Ray, running as an Independent with BJP backing, received 23 votes, bolstering the party’s representation in the Upper House.
Santrupt Misra earned 31 votes from the BJD, while Datteswar Hota, a well-known urologist and the BJD-Congress-CPI(M) alliance’s joint candidate, received 23.
The four Rajya Sabha seats became vacant on April 2 due to the retirement of sitting members. The winners should soon get their membership credentials from the returning officer, indicating that they have formally joined the Upper House.
With this result, the BJP strengthens its presence in the Rajya Sabha from Odisha, leaving the BJD with only one seat. The elections also revealed slight cross-voting patterns, indicating some divergence from party lines in the legislature.
