Bhubaneswar: Industrialist and former Union Minister Dilip Ray won the fourth and most contested Rajya Sabha seat from Odisha on Monday, defeating joint opposition candidate Dr Datteswar Hota in a closely watched election marked by cross-voting from opposition legislators.
Ray contested as an independent candidate with backing from the BJP and secured victory against Hota, an eminent urologist fielded jointly by the BJD, Congress, and Communist Party of India (Marxist), according to media reports.
His win came after significant cross-voting from opposition ranks. Reports indicated that eight MLAs from the BJD and three from the Congress defied party whips to support Ray. Their votes proved decisive in a contest where no single alliance held a clear majority for all four seats.
Among the BJD legislators who voted for Ray were Banki MLA Debi Ranjan Tripathy, Choudwar-Cuttack MLA Souvic Biswal, Baliguda MLA Chakramani Kanhar, Basta MLA Subasini Jena, Jayadev MLA Naba Kishor Mallick, Tirtol MLA Ramakant Bhoi, along with the two suspended legislators, Arabinda Mohapatra from Patkura and Sanatan Mahakud from Champua.
From the Congress, Barabati-Cuttack MLA Sofia Firdous, Mohana MLA Dasarathi Gamang, and Sanakhemundi MLA Ramesh Jena voted in Ray’s favour.
Under the proportional representation system used in Rajya Sabha elections, Ray required at least eight first-preference votes to cross the victory threshold. With the BJP’s own strength in the assembly, support from independents, and the cross-votes from opposition MLAs, he secured the seat decisively during the counting process, including through second-preference transfers.
The cross-voting exposed internal dissent within both the BJD and Congress. BJD President Naveen Patnaik and Odisha Congress chief Bhakta Charan Das reportedly held meetings and kept their MLAs together in hotels to prevent defections, but several legislators still voted against party directions.
Baliguda MLA Chakramani Kanhar, who had remained untraceable for three days before the voting, appeared directly at the assembly to cast his vote. Souvic Biswal’s cross-vote was reportedly driven by resentment over the alleged humiliation faced by his father, former MP Prabhat Biswal, during protests against BJD leader Dr. Santrupt Mishra earlier.
Some Congress MLAs also skipped initial party meetings before eventually voting in the election.
The BJP secured two seats comfortably in the election with its official candidates, Manmohan Samal and Sujeet Kumar. BJD leader Santrupt Mishra won one seat as expected.
With Ray’s victory, the BJP-backed camp secured three of the four Rajya Sabha seats from Odisha, strengthening the party’s presence in the Upper House.
Ray’s win has drawn comparisons with his dramatic 2002 Rajya Sabha election victory, when he won as an independent candidate after being expelled from the BJD, supported by cross-voting from both BJD and BJP legislators.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi congratulated Samal and Kumar in his chamber at the Odisha Legislative Assembly following the results.
During the interaction, the CM highlighted the significance of their victory in advancing the State government’s vision of “Samriddha Odisha”. In a message on X, Majhi said the presence of these leaders in Parliament would strengthen Odisha’s voice and contribute to development and public service at the national level.
He also invoked Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s slogan of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas” and sought the blessings of Lord Jagannath for the successful tenure of the newly elected members.
The CM also acknowledged the victory of BJP-backed independent candidate Ray.
