Bhubaneswar: Political activity has intensified following the issuance of notification for the March 16 Rajya Sabha elections in Odisha.

Congress MLA Satyajeet Gomango on Friday collected three sets of nomination papers from the Assembly Secretariat on behalf of his party, a day after the Election Commission of India (ECI) issued the notification for the Rajya Sabha polls in the state.

Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Rajya Sabha MP Sasmit Patra, on behalf of his party, had collected six sets of nomination papers for the polls from Assembly Secretariat on Thursday.

“The All India Congress Committee (AICC) and the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee, led by Bhakta Charan Das, have chalked out a strategy for the March 16 Rajya Sabha polls in Odisha. I have collected three sets of nomination papers on behalf of the party,” said Gomango, the Legislator from Gunupur segment in Rayagada district.

No party has the number to win the 4^th seat

The Rajya Sabha elections have been necessitated as four Rajya Sabha members 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 Bharatiya Janata Party and the Opposition BJD and Congress are yet to declare their candidates for the Rajya Sabha polls.

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.

Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the main Opposition party in Odisha, has 50 MLAs and the Naveen Patnaik-led party is confident of winning one Rajya Sabha seat.

However, neither the BJP nor the BJD has the number to win the fourth seat. Speculations are rife that the two parties may join hands and field a common candidate for the fourth seat.

Notably, the Congress party having 14 MLAs had earlier approached the BJD to nominate a common candidate for the fourth seat.