Bhubaneswar: The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is all set to field three candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections in Odisha.

A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of senior leaders of the party in the capital city here today.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida and BJP Odisha unit president Manmohan Samal among other senior leaders were present at the meeting.

The three BJP candidates will file their nominations on March 5. The party has asked all its MLAs to remain present during the submission of nomination papers by the three candidates.

It is worth mentioning here that four Rajya Sabha seats from Odisha will go to the polls on March 16.  

The elections have been necessitated as four Rajya Sabha MPs from Odisha are scheduled to retire on April 2. The retiring members are Niranjan Bishi and Munna Khan of the BJD, and Sujeet Kumar and Mamata Mohanta of the BJP.

The ruling party is certain to win 2 of the 4 vacant seats

The BJP has 79 MLAs in the 147-member Odisha Assembly. Besides, the party has the support of three independent legislators. The ruling party is almost certain to win two of the four vacant Rajya Sabha seats. However, the ruling party is yet to announce its candidates for the polls.

Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the main Opposition party in Odisha, has 48 MLAs (excluding two suspended legislators) and the Naveen Patnaik-led party is confident of winning one Rajya Sabha seat. The regional party has nominated entrepreneur-turned-politician Santrupt Mishra as its candidate for the March 16 polls.

However, neither the BJP nor the BJD has the number to win the fourth vacant Rajya Sabha seat.

The BJD has proposed eminent doctor Datteswar Hota as a ‘common candidate’ for the fourth Rajya Sabha seat. The Congress party having 14 MLAs has announced its support for Hota.