BJP's Debashish Samantray files nomination for Rajya Sabha by-election in Odisha
Bhubaneshwar, June 5
BJP leader Debashish Samantaray filed his nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha by-election at the Odisha Assembly premises in Bhubaneswar on Friday.
He was accompanied by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Odisha BJP President Manmohan Samal, and other senior party leaders, underscoring the BJP's unified support for his candidature.
Reflecting on his departure from the BJD, Samantaray asserted that Odia sentiments were hurt during the 2024 elections, claiming that the emergence of a person from South India as Naveen Babu's successor pushed the party significantly backward and ultimately caused its defeat.
"First of all, I would like to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi, our National President Nitin Nabin, Odisha State President Manmohan Samal, and the popular Chief Minister of the state, Mohan Majhi, for personally welcoming me in Delhi. There is a leadership crisis in my former party, the BJD. Naveen Babu is the main leader, but above him, there is a retired IAS officer from another state named V.K. Pandian. The reason I left the BJD is that Odia sentiments were hurt during the last election; a person from South India emerged as Naveen Babu's successor, which pushed the party significantly backwards and caused the party's defeat," said Samantaray.
Earlier, on June 3, the Election Commission issued a notification for biennial elections to 24 Rajya Sabha seats from ten states. This includes four seats each in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, three seats each in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, two seats in Jharkhand, and one seat each in Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur and Meghalaya.
Notification was also issued for the Rajya Sabha bypoll for a seat each in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Odisha.
BJP has released the list of 11 candidates for the upcoming Biennial and Bye-elections to the Rajya Sabha.
The BJP has fielded Tai Tagak from Arunachal Pradesh; Rajubhai Shukla, Mukeshbhai Rathwa, Mansingh Parmar and Jitendra Meghjibhai Kanzariya from Gujarat; Tarun Chugh and Rajneesh Agrawal from Madhya Pradesh; A Sharda Devi from Manipur; and Alka Gurjar and Satish Poonia from Rajasthan.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Why does every political defection need to be so dramatic? Samantray ji talks about Odia asmita but was in BJD for decades. Now suddenly he's the saviour of Odisha. This is just regular politics, nothing more.
VK Pandian was a good administrator but yes, making him the de facto CM was a mistake. Odisha needs Odia leaders at the helm. Hope Samantray does well in Rajya Sabha and raises issues of our state.
BJP is playing smart politics in Odisha. They know the anti-incumbency against BJD is high and they are picking up disgruntled leaders. But honestly, this is better than the previous dynasty politics.
Political leaders come and go, but the real question is will this help common people of Odisha? Employment, education, healthcare - these are what matter. Not which party someone joins. 🤷♀️
The 'Odia sentiment' argument is powerful but also dangerous. We need to focus on development and good governance, not regionalism. Still, I'm curious to see if Samantray actually delivers or just uses this rhetoric.
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.