Bhubaneswar: BJP candidate for Rajya Sabha from Odisha, Sujeet Kumar is all set to be chosen unopposed during the upcoming bypoll scheduled to be held on December 20.

As no other candidate has filed nomination papers till today, the last date for nomination, Kumar will be definitely elected. Official announcemnt on his win is a matter of time only. 

Yesterday, Kumar filed his nomination papers in presence of Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and BJP Odisha President Manmohan Samal at the Odisha Legislative Assembly.

In 2020, Kumar was nominated to the Rajya Sabha on the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) ticket. He resigned from the post as the BJD MP on September 6 following which the party expelled him the same day for 'anti-party activities'. His term was to conclude on April 2, 2026.

He then joined BJP at the party's national headquarters in Delhi in presence of the party's Odisha in-charge Vijaypal Singh Tomar, BJP leaders Dharmendra Pradhan and Bhartruhari Mahtab, and former BJP Odisha in-charge Arun Singh. 

The bypoll to the Rajya Sabha seat, which is lying vacant after Sujeet Kumar's resignation, from Odisha is scheduled to be held on December 20 as per the Election Commission of India (ECI) notification. Voting will be held between 9 am and 4 pm on the scheduled date and the counting will be done at 5 pm on the very day.