Rajya Sabha elections: Manmohan Samal, Sujit Kumar and Dilip Ray file their nominations
Bhubaneswar: Both the candidates of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the Rajya Sabha elections today filed their nominations along with Dilip Ray, whom the saffron party has declared support.
State President Manmohan Samal and Sujit Kumar filed their nominations along with hotelier Dilip Ray, who is contesting as an Independent candidate.
It is to be noted here that while Manmohan Samal and Sujit Kumar are the official candidates of the BJP, Dilip Ray is contesting as an Independent candidate with BJPâs backing.
Several senior BJP leaders along with Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Deputy CM Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo and state in-charge Vijaypal Singh Tomar present when the trio filed their nominations.
Earlier in the day, BJD candidate Santrupta Mishra and Dr Datteswar Hota also filed nominations from BJD for the elections. While Santrupta Mishra is made the candidate for the lone sure-to-win seat, the conch party has fielded Datteswar Hota as common candidate. Congress and CPI(M) have announced to extend their supports to him.
With the filing of the nominations by Dilip Ray and Datteswar Hota, the contest for the crucial fourth seat has turned into a closely watched political battle. Now, the party strategy and numbers are likely to play a decisive role in the final outcome of the results.
