Lobby begins in BJD for Rajya Sabha berths

Bhubaneswar: Hectic lobby has started in the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) after the Election Commission announced the date for holding bypoll for three Rajya Sabha seats.

The Election Commission has announced bypolls for three vacant Rajya Sabha seats of Odisha on July 5.

With the numbers in the House of state assembly, ruling BJD nominees are set to be elected in the bypoll.

These three seats were vacated by Achyuta Samata, Pratap Keshari Deb and Soumya Ranjan Patnaik.

The three leaders were elected to Lok Sabha and Assembly in the recently concluded elections.

While Samanta was elected to the Lok Sabha from Kandhamal, both Deb and Patnaik resigned from Rajya Sabha after they were elected to the State Assembly.

Notifications will be issued on June 18 and elections and June 19 will the last date for application of nominations.

Samanta and Patnaik’s term in the Upper House was scheduled to end in April 2024. Deb’s term in Rajya Sabha was up to July, 2022.