Bhubaneswar, June 5: Debashish Samantaray, who recently joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on Friday, filed his nomination papers for the by-election to the lone vacant Rajya Sabha seat from Odisha at the State Assembly premises in Bhubaneswar.
Several senior BJP leaders, including Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Odisha BJP president Manmohan Samal, Deputy Chief Minister K.V. Singh Deo, and other party functionaries, were present during the filing of the nomination papers.
Samantaray expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the party leadership for welcoming him into the BJP.
"After joining the BJP, I feel as though I have returned home. I sincerely thank the Prime Minister, the party leadership, and all party workers for their support and warm welcome. I am honoured to have been nominated to the Rajya Sabha once again," he said.
Samantaray also voiced confidence about securing a berth in the Upper House unopposed, citing the BJP's numerical strength in the Odisha Legislative Assembly.
The Rajya Sabha seat became vacant following Samantaray's resignation from the Upper House on May 25. On the same day, he also resigned from the primary membership of the BJD before joining the BJP on May 26. The ruling party officially announced his candidature for the vacant seat on Thursday.
According to the election schedule, June 8 is the last date for filing nominations, while scrutiny of papers will take place on June 9. Candidates can withdraw their nominations until June 11. Voting, if required, and counting of votes are scheduled for June 18.
With the BJP enjoying a comfortable majority in the Odisha Assembly, Samantaray's election to the Rajya Sabha is widely expected to be a mere formality.
