THEBUSINESSBYTES BUREAU

BHUBANESWAR, MARCH 16, 2026

In a major political development, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) clinched three out of the four Rajya Sabha seats from Odisha in the biennial elections held on Monday, marking the state’s first contested Upper House polls in 12 years and underscoring the party’s growing dominance in the state’s political landscape.

The winners include Manmohan Samal, the BJP’s Odisha state president, sitting Rajya Sabha member Sujeet Kumar, and BJP-backed independent candidate and former Union minister Dilip Ray. The fourth seat went to Santrupt Mishra, the nominee of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD).

The BJP, which enjoys a commanding majority in the 147-member Odisha Assembly with 79 MLAs along with independent support, secured the first two seats comfortably for its official candidates. The real battle, however, unfolded for the remaining two seats, where cross-voting by opposition legislators played a decisive role.

According to reports, as many as 11 MLAs — six from the opposition BJD, two suspended BJD members, and three from the Indian National Congress — cast their votes in favour of BJP-backed independent Dilip Ray. The unexpected rebellion ensured Ray’s victory over the joint opposition nominee, eminent urologist Dr. Datteshwar Hota, who had been fielded by the BJD, Congress and Communist Party of India (Marxist) in a bid to prevent a BJP sweep.

BJD candidate Santrupt Mishra managed to secure his berth with the backing of the party’s remaining loyal legislators, gathering the required preference votes to enter the Upper House.

The election process witnessed high political drama, including allegations of horse-trading levelled by the opposition. Voting was briefly halted amid disputes over ballot papers, and a minor scuffle between BJD and BJP MLAs was also reported inside the Assembly premises during the proceedings.

The outcome further reflects the BJP’s strengthened hold over Odisha politics following its historic victory in the 2024 Assembly elections that ended the 24-year rule of the BJD led by Naveen Patnaik. The cross-voting episode has also exposed internal dissent within opposition ranks and hinted at possible strains in the BJD-Congress understanding.

The newly elected members will serve a six-year term in the Rajya Sabha beginning April 2026, a development that will further bolster the BJP’s numerical strength in Parliament’s Upper House.