Bhubaneswar: Senior tribal leader Mamata Mohanta today filed her nomination as a BJP candidate for the Rajya Sabha bypoll in Odisha on Wednesday.
Accompanied by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, BJP State President Manmohan Samal, party’s Odisha in-charge Vijaypal Singh Tomar, and several party MLAs, Mamata filed her nomination papers before the Returning Officer here in the Assembly.
Mamata is all set to be elected to the Upper House of the Parliament from Odisha as the ruling BJP has 78 MLAs and the support of three Independent MLAs. The BJD, Congress, and CPM have 51, 14, and one member respectively in the 147-member Assembly.
After submitting her papers, Shrimati Mohanta expressed her gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president JP Nadda, and Majhi. She vowed to work for the people of the state and her community.
The Chief Minister expressed confidence in Mohanta’s victory, saying, “We are optimistic that she will emerge as a winner and will represent Odisha in the Rajya Sabha.”
Elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2020 as a BJD candidate, Mamata Mohanta, a popular Kudumi community leader from the tribal dominated Mayurbhanj district, resigned from her RS seat and the primary membership of the BJD on July 31 and joined the saffron party on August 1.
On Tuesday, the BJP nominated her for the Rajya Sabha seat, putting an end to all political speculation about the possible candidate for the bypoll from Odisha, slated to be held on September 3.
At present, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has eight Rajya Sabha members, while the BJP has one, held by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who has been elected from the state twice consecutively with the support of the BJD.