Bhubaneswar: Election process for by-poll for the lone Rajya Sabha seat, which fell vacant after death of BJD’s Kalpataru Das, began on Thursday as the Odisha Legislative Assembly issued a formal notification for filing of nominations.
The process of nomination filing will continue till December 3.
Verification of papers is on December 4 and the last date of withdrawal of nominations is on December 7.
The by-poll for Rajya Sabha seat from Odisha would be held on December 14.
Sources said looking at the number of BJD legislators of in the State Assembly, winning of the ruling party’s candidate is for sure.
However, rumours have gained momentum about who will be BJD’s RS candidate as the ruling party has not yet named anyone for election to the Upper House.
From Western Odisha, BJD vice president and former minister Prasanna Acharya is being touted as the front runner for the ruling party’s RS candidate. From Southern Odisha, names of Planning Board Vice Chairman N Bhaskar Rao and former minister Rabi Nanda are being discussed. Similarly, from Coastal Odisha, Maheswar Mohanty and Pratap Deb are also being discussed as likely candidates.
Moreover, Padma Vibhushan Raghunath Mohapatra, who was backed by BJD in the previous RS election and lost to Congress leader Ranjib Biswal, might also be considered by BJD to acknowledge his achievement.