Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidates Manmohan Samal and Sujit Kumar have won two out of four seats in Odisha in the biennial Rajya Sabha elections. Apart from this, independent candidate Dilip Rai has won one seat, while Biju Janata Dal (BJD) candidate Satrat Mishra has won the fourth seat. Meanwhile, after the news of cross voting in the elections came to light, the political atmosphere has become quite heated. The political stir has intensified after allegations of cross-voting against Congress and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MLAs during election voting.
Cases of cross voting seen in elections held in Odisha
During the elections held on four Rajya Sabha seats in Odisha, cases of cross-voting were also seen, which shows deviation from the party’s policies. At least five opposition MLAs reportedly voted in favor of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-backed independent candidate Dilip Rai. Of the five opposition MLAs who cross-voted, three are said to be members of the Congress party, which include the names of Ramesh Jena from Sankhemundi seat of Odisha, Dashrathi Gomango from Mohana seat and Sophia Firdous from Barabati-Cuttack seat.
Cross-voting of Congress and BJD MLAs helped Dilip Rai win. It is being told that three Congress MLAs and six BJD MLAs voted in favor of the BJP supported candidate, which was against the party whip issued to them.
Many BJD MLAs did cross voting
BJD MLAs who reportedly cross-voted included Chakramani Kanhar, Souvik Biswal, Subasini Jena, Ramakant Bhoi, Devi Ranjan Tripathi and Naba Kishore Mallik. Apart from this, two suspended BJD MLAs – Sanatan Mahakud and Arvind Mohapatra, also voted in favor of Dilip Rai in the election.
(Report- Rajinikanth)
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