Amidst intense allegations of horse trading and fears of cross-voting, Odisha is set to conduct Rajya Sabha elections this Monday after a 12-year hiatus, with five candidates competing for four seats in the Upper House of the Parliament.
The Rajya Sabha elections have evolved into a high-stakes prestige battle between the ruling BJP and BJD president Naveen Patnaik, whose five-term tenure as Chief Minister ended following the 2024 general elections.
Patnaik has publicly accused the BJP and its candidates of engaging in “horse-trading” to secure the necessary votes.
The arithmetic of the 147-member Odisha Assembly dictates that a candidate requires at least 30 first-preference votes to win. Currently, neither the BJP nor the BJD possesses enough surplus strength to secure an additional seat independently after accounting for their primary candidates.
The current Assembly composition sees the BJP with 79 MLAs plus three Independent supporters, while the BJD holds 48 seats following two suspensions. The Congress maintains 14 members, and the CPI(M) has one.
After securing its two official candidates—Manmohan Samal and Sujeet Kumar—the BJP is left with 22 surplus votes, eight short of the 30 needed for its backed Independent candidate, Dilip Ray.
Similarly, the BJD will have 18 surplus votes remaining after electing its official candidate, Santrupt Misra.
In a strategic move to secure the final seat, the BJD and Congress have backed a common candidate, eminent urologist Dr Datteswar Hota. With combined support from the BJD, Congress, and CPI(M), Hota is projected to receive 33 first-preference votes, provided there is no internal defection.
To prevent “horse-trading,” the Congress relocated eight of its MLAs to a hotel in Karnataka, while six others stayed in Bhubaneswar.
Congress MP Saptagiri Ulaka alleged that agents representing Dilip Ray attempted to bribe the Bengaluru-based MLAs with Rs 5 crore each. According to the OPCC, four individuals were subsequently arrested by the Karnataka police following a formal complaint.
“The four people were later arrested by Karnataka police following an FIR lodged by Congress deputy leader in the Assembly, Ashok Das,” the statement issued by OPCC said.
Naveen Patnaik has also worked aggressively to maintain party unity, hosting daily meetings and lunches for his lawmakers. Despite issuing a whip, two BJD MLAs abstained from attending meetings at Naveen Niwas, following which the party issued show-cause notices.
The Congress leadership issued a show cause notice to one MLA Dasarathi Gomango, who went incommunicado for five days, thus violating party whip, OPCC president Bhakta Charan Das said, alleging that the BJP was attempting to lure Congress MLAs through different means, including “horse trading”.
However, Das claimed, the Congress MLAs (except Gomango) are united to vote on party line for Dr Hota.
The lone CPI(M) MLA, Laxman Munda, has officially stated his support for the common candidate, Dr. Hota.
To ensure transparency and prevent cross-voting, all four political parties have appointed agents to monitor the balloting process at Room 54 of the Odisha Assembly.
This election has created a rare political understanding between traditional rivals BJD and Congress. The two parties, known as traditional rivals, agreed to a common candidate, Dr Hota.
“The understanding with Congress is for the Rajya Sabha elections and not any alliance as alleged by the opposition,” BJD candidate Santrupt Misra said.
OPCC president Bhakta Charan Das said, “Both the BJD and Congress agreed to one candidate to foil the horse trading by the BJP. The Opposition’s common candidate, Dr Hota, has the support of 33 MLAs, while the BJP-backed Independent nominee has the support of only 22 MLAs. Therefore, they are making all efforts for cross-voting to win the poll.”
BJP leaders, including state president Manmohan Samal and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, have dismissed all allegations of misconduct, asserting that Dilip Ray’s candidacy is supported by well-wishers across the political spectrum.
