Bhubaneswar: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Debashish Samantaray on Friday filed his nomination papers for the upcoming Rajya Sabha by-election in Odisha.

Samantaray submitted his nomination before the Returning Officer at the Odisha Legislative Assembly in the presence of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Deputy CM Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, Odisha BJP President Manmohan Samal and several other ministers and leaders.

Speaking to reporters after filing his nomination, Samantaray expressed gratitude to the BJP's central and state leadership for faith in him.

"The party has entrusted me with a responsibility, and I will carry out whatever task is assigned to me," he said.

Samantaray asserted that serving the people does not depend on whether one is in the ruling party or the opposition. However, he added that he would be able to contribute more effectively under the BJP's "double-engine government" at the Centre and in Odisha.

The BJP candidate claimed that more leaders and workers from the BJD could join the BJP in the coming days.

The bypoll was necessitated after Samantaray resigned from the Rajya Sabha following his exit from the Biju Janata Dal (BJD). He subsequently joined the BJP and was announced as the party's candidate for the vacant Upper House seat.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has scheduled the Rajya Sabha by-election for June 18, 2026. Voting will take place from 9 am to 4 pm, while counting of votes will be conducted at 5 pm on the same day.

The last date for filing nominations is June 8, scrutiny of nomination papers will be held on June 9, and candidates can withdraw their nominations until June 11.

Samantaray was elected to the Rajya Sabha in February 2024 as a BJD nominee, with his term originally set to continue until April 2030. However, his resignation from the Upper House led to the vacancy and the subsequent by-election for the remainder of the term.