Bhubaneswar, April 27: A delegation of BJD MLAs met Odisha Assembly Speaker Surama Padhy on Monday and submitted a formal petition demanding disqualification of eight party MLAs who cross-voted in the recent Rajya Sabha elections.

The eight MLAs have voted in favour of BJP-backed Independent candidate Dilip Ray in the March 16 Rajya Sabha polls.

Invoking the anti-defection law under the Tenth Schedule, the Naveen Patnaik-led regional party argued that the cross-voting amounts to "voluntarily giving up membership" of the party through anti-party activities.

Citing two major precedents, BJD MLA Arun Sahoo said said media persons that they had urged the Speaker to take a call on the petition at the earliest.

“We have cited two examples - Himachal Pradesh Speaker's disqualification of six Congress MLAs in February 2024 for cross-voting in Rajya Sabha polls and disqualification of JD(U) MP Sharad Yadav by Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu in December 2017 on grounds of anti-party conduct. The Speaker is expected to examine the petition and take a decision in due course,” said Sahoo.

BJD has already made it clear that it is ready for a legal battle up to the Supreme Court if the disqualification demand is not accepted.

The six MLAs - Chakramani Kanhar, Naba Kishore Mallick, Souvic Biswal, Subasini Jena, Ramakanta Bhoi and Devi Ranjan Tripathy, who have voted in favour of BJP-backed Independent candidate Dilip Ray in the March 16 Rajya Sabha polls were first issued show cause notice.

But, in an open show of defiance, the six BJD MLAs rejected show cause notices issued to them for cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha elections, terming the action illegal and challenging the party leadership.

The party also demanded disqualification of other two MLAs - Aravind Mohapatra, Sanatan Mahakud – who were already suspended from the BJD much before the Rajya Sabha elections for anti-party activities, for indulging in cross voting.