With hotelier Dilip Ray in the fray, Rajya Sabha contest in Odisha sparks interest

Hotelier and former Union Coal Minister Dilip Ray on Tuesday (March 3, 2026) entered the fray for the Rajya Sabha election as an independent candidate backed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which makes for a fascinating contest.

Odisha is represented by 10 members in the Rajya Sabha — seven MPs from the BJD, and three MPs from the BJP. The terms of BJD MPs Niranjan Bishi and Muzibulla Khan, along with BJP MPs Mamata Mohanta and Sujeet Kumar, are set to expire on April 2.

In the 147-member Odisha Assembly, the BJP holds 79 seats, followed by the BJD with 50, and the Congress with 14. There is one member from the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), and three members are Independents. The BJP presently has the backing of all three Independent MLAs. Meanwhile, the BJD’s effective strength fell to 48 following the suspension of Patkura MLA Arvind Mohapatra and Champua MLA Santan Mahakud over alleged anti-party activities.

With a candidate requiring a minimum of 30 first preference votes to secure victory, the BJP can comfortably elect two members to the Rajya Sabha, while the BJD can ensure the election of one. The BJP has announced its State unit president Manmohan Samal and sitting Rajya Sabha MP Sujeet Kumar as its candidates. The BJD’s first choice is Santrupt Mishra, political advisor to former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Their election to Rajya Sabha is almost certain.

No party, however, has the numerical strength to guarantee the win of a fourth candidate. The BJD has announced Datteswar Hota as a common candidate with the backing of the Congress. If both the two parties manage to hold their flock together, Dr. Hota’s win would be ensured. Put together, the two parties have 62 members in the Odisha Assembly.

“I will file my nomination on March 5. I will seek support from all parties,” Mr. Ray, a founding member of the BJD, told reporters here. He had met Chief Minister Mohan Majhi and BJP State chief Mr. Samal, he said.

The party had in principle decided to support Mr. Ray’s candidature, Mr. Samal said.

In 2002, after Mr. Ray, Coal Minister in the National Democratic Alliance government under the late Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, was expelled from the BJD, he had entered the fray in a similar fashion and pulled off a sensational victory, with BJD and BJP MLAs defying the party line to support his candidature.

If Mr. Ray could manage a win when Mr. Biju Patnaik was all powerful in Odisha, the BJD appears to be weaker this time, and the Congress might find it challenging in keeping its MLAs united, political analysts said.