Bhubaneswar, March 30: Newly elected Rajya Sabha MP Dilip Ray along with his wife Pooja Ray on Monday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi and expressed gratitude to him for his support during the recent Rajya Sabha elections.

Taking to ‘X’, the former Union Minister said that he is deeply humbled by the Prime Minister’s encouragement and guidance and committed to serving Odisha and the nation with renewed resolve.

"Had the privilege of meeting Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji and expressing my heartfelt gratitude for his support and blessings during the recent Rajya Sabha elections. His visionary leadership, tireless dedication, and unwavering commitment to the nation continue to inspire us all. Deeply humbled by his encouragement and guidance. Committed to serving Odisha and the nation with renewed resolve. 🙏," posts Ray on 'X'.

Notably, Ray won as an Independent, backed by BJP and cross-votes from the 11 MLAs - eight from BJD and three from Congress.

Ray defeated the BJD and Congress-backed common candidate Datteswar Hota to secure the crucial fourth seat for Rajya Sabha in the recently concluded elections, which saw a contest in Odisha for the first time since 2014.

BJP candidates Manmohan Samal and Sujeet Kumar won the two seats with BJD nominee Santrupt Misra also going through.

Of the four seats that went to polls, two were earlier held by BJP and two by Naveen Patnaik-led BJD. In the 147-member State Assembly, BJP’s strength of 79 MLAs, along with support from three independents, gave it a comfortable margin to win two seats but left it seven short of a third.

The BJD, with 50 MLAs including two suspended members – Sanatan Mahakud and Arvind Mohapatra, had enough to win one seat with the required 30 first-preference votes and had tied up with the Congress’s 14 MLAs to secure another. Cross-voting, however, changed the dynamics.