4 min readBhubaneswarUpdated: Mar 15, 2026 05:50 PM IST
Fears of cross-voting have triggered political caution in Odisha ahead of voting for the fourth Rajya Sabha seat, where no party has clear numbers.
While the Congress has moved some of its MLAs to a private resort in Bengaluru, the BJD has stepped up efforts to keep its legislators together. Party president and former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has asked BJD MLAs to attend two-hour meetings at his residence, Naveen Niwas, for three days starting Friday.
According to Patnaik’s letter to party legislators, the meetings will include presentations and training sessions on the Rajya Sabha poll procedure and voting process. “A contest in the Rajya Sabha election in Odisha is being held after 12 years. The last time it was held was in February 2014. Many MLAs are not familiar with the voting process, so it is important to train them to ensure votes are not rejected,” a senior BJD leader said.
On Sunday, Patnaik is scheduled to chair a BJD legislature party meeting at his residence. Party leaders said all 48 BJD MLAs are united and will vote according to the party president’s decision.
Sources said Patnaik does not want to take any chances ahead of the crucial vote. According to BJD insiders, there is a fear of “2002 rerun” because of which Patnaik has been leaving no stone unturned to make sure that all his MLAs vote for the common candidate.
In 2002, Ray, who was then expelled from BJD, managed to win the Rajya Sabha polls as an independent candidate despite Patnaik’s effort to ensure his defeat. At least 15 BJD MLAs were believed to have cross-voted in favour of Ray, who was a close confidant of former CM Biju Patnaik and still maintains good rapport with leaders from all parties.
On Thursday, Patnaik also met Basta MLA Subasini Jena at his residence, a day after her husband and former BJD MP Rabindra Jena joined the BJP. Subasini Jena said she met Patnaik to discuss constituency-related matters and continues to regard him as her leader, though she did not directly respond to queries on whom she would support in the Rajya Sabha election.
Story continues below this ad
The BJP, meanwhile, has taken several of its MLAs to Paradip for what party leaders described as a “training” programme ahead of the Rajya Sabha vote.
The fourth RS seat
The BJD and Congress have fielded noted urologist Datteswar Hota as a joint candidate for the fourth seat. He faces Independent Dilip Ray — a former Union minister and hotelier — who is backed by the BJP.
Four Rajya Sabha seats from Odisha will go to polls on March 16. Based on the strength of parties in the state Assembly, the BJP has enough numbers to secure at least two seats, while the BJD has the numbers for one. The fourth seat is expected to witness a close contest.
In the 147-member Odisha Assembly, the ruling BJP has 79 MLAs and the support of three Independents. The BJD has 48 MLAs after suspending two members for alleged anti-party activities. The Congress has 14 MLAs, while the CPI(M) has one. Each candidate will require 30 first-preference votes to win.
Story continues below this ad
Meanwhile, the Congress has moved some of its MLAs to Bengaluru amid fears of poaching. Nine of the party’s 14 MLAs reached Bengaluru late Thursday night along with Odisha Congress president Bhakta Charan Das. The party also issued a three-line whip asking its MLAs to remain in Bhubaneswar between March 13 and 16 ahead of the voting.
Reacting to two persons being arrested on charges of trying to bribing Odisha Congress MLAs, Karnataka Deputy CM D K Shivakumar on Sunday accused the BJP of horse-trading.
However, Congress MLA Sofia Firdous expressed reservations about the move, saying there was no need to shift legislators out of the state.
On the other hand, the Congress has issued a show-cause notice to its Mohana MLA, Dasarathi Gomango, who is not responding to communication by party leaders since March 8.
