Bhubaneswar: BJP Leader Sujeet Kumar filed his nomination paper before the Returning Officer here at the Assembly in presence of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, several ministers and MLAs.
He filed two sets of nominations with 30 MLAs proposers.
On expected lines, the BJP had announced the name of former MP Sujeet Kumar for the by-poll to single Rajya Sabha (RS) seat in Odisha.
Now Shri Kumar is all set to go to the Upper House of the Parliament as the BJP has the number to win the seat.
As per the notification, the last date for filing of nomination papers will be December 10. Scrutiny of nominations will be done on December 11. The last date for withdrawal of candidature will be December 13.
If required, the by poll will be conducted between 9 am and 4 pm on December 20. Counting of votes will be done at 5 pm the same day.
Sujeet was elected to Rajya Sabha on April 3, 2020, and his term would have ended on April 2, 2026. He has now joined the BJP and is likely to be re-elected to the Upper House by the party.
Shri Kumar from Kalahandi district, was the second BJD MP to resign from Rajya Sabha after Mamata Mohanta, a leader from the Kudumi community.
Shrimati Mohanta later joined the BJP and became a Rajya Sabha member as a saffron party nominee. Now, the saffron party has followed the same route for Kumar.
Odisha has 10 Rajya Sabha seats, of which seven are held by BJD MPs, two by BJP MPs, and one is currently vacant, which is expected to go in favor of the saffron party, given its strength of 78 MLAs in the 147-member Assembly.