Ambika Prasad Kanungo, Bhubaneswar, 7 March 2026
Candidates of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), viz. state unit president, Manmohan Samal, and outgoing MP Sujeet Kumar along with senior politician Dilip Ray, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) viz. Dr. Santrupt Mishra, and the common candidate of BJD and Indian National Congress (INC), Dr. Datteswar Hota, filed their nominations on Thursday for the biennial Rajya Sabha elections from Odisha.
While the numbers in the Assembly suggest that three seats are largely predictable, the fourth seat has turned into the key political contest, setting the stage for a direct fight between BJP-backed independent candidate Dilip Ray and Opposition-backed nominee Dr. Datteswar Hota, with the former currently short of the required numbers.
BJP confident of winning two seats
Manmohan Samal and Sujeet Kumar filed their nominations as the official BJP candidates before the returning officer at the State Assembly building. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, senior BJP leaders and party workers were present during the filing of the nominations. With its current legislative strength, the ruling BJP is confident of comfortably securing these two seats in the Rajya Sabha election scheduled for March 16.
Ray enters the race for the crucial fourth seat
Former Union minister Dilip Ray filed his nomination as an independent candidate, though the BJP has formally extended its support to him for the crucial fourth seat. Before filing his nomination, Ray paid tribute to his mentor and legendary leader Biju Patnaik on the occasion of his birth anniversary. Expressing confidence about his prospects, Ray said he expects to win despite not having the required magic number of 30 first-preference votes at present. He had earlier secured a Rajya Sabha berth in 2002 through cross-voting, indicating that political realignments could still play a role in the contest.
Opposition backs ‘Common Candidate’
On the other side, BJD candidate, Dr. Santrupt Mishra, and Dr. Datteswar Hota, projected as a “common candidate” and backed by both the BJD and Congress, filed their nomination papers earlier in the day in the presence of BJD president Naveen Patnaik and other senior leaders.
The joint backing signals a rare coordination between the BJD and Congress aimed at preventing the BJP from expanding its representation in the Upper House.
Assembly Arithmetic Makes Fourth Seat the Battleground
The four Rajya Sabha seats from Odisha will fall vacant on April 2 following the completion of the terms of BJP MPs Mamata Mohanta and Sujeet Kumar, and BJD members Niranjan Bishi and Muzibulla Khan (Munna Khan). In the 147-member Odisha Assembly, the BJP currently has 82 MLAs including three Independents, putting it in a comfortable position to secure two seats. The BJD, with 48 MLAs, is expected to win one seat. However, the fourth seat has emerged as the decisive battleground, where the BJP hopes to extend its tally to three, while the BJD–Congress combine is backing Hota to block a BJP sweep. The Congress has 14 MLAs, while the CPI(M) has one MLA.
Test of Political strategy
With neither Ray nor Hota having the assured numbers, cross-voting, strategic alignments, or last-minute political manoeuvring could determine the outcome. The contest for the fourth seat is, therefore, expected to be the most closely watched aspect of the Rajya Sabha elections in Odisha, reflecting the evolving political equations in the state.
