Proceedings of the Rajya Sabha during the Budget Session of Parliament in New Delhi. File | Photo credit: ANI
The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Saturday (February 28, 2026) announced two candidates for the Rajya Sabha polls despite having the numbers to ensure victory for only one, a move that turned the contest into a competitive one after the Indian National Congress quickly extended support to the other candidate. This may have dented the Bharatiya Janata Party’s bid to secure three seats from the state.
Santrupt Misra, the former Aditya Birla Group HR chief who joined the BJD just before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and unsuccessfully contested the Cuttack polls, is the first-choice candidate, while Dr. Datteswar Hota, a noted urologist and First Vice-Chancellor of Odisha Health University, is a “regular” candidate.
All parties should support: Patnaik
“For the Rajya Sabha elections, our party has decided to field two candidates. The first candidate for the third slot would be Dr. Santrupta Mishra, a senior member of our party. The second candidate for the fourth slot is a joint candidate – Dr. Datteswar Hota, a renowned doctor from Odisha, first VC of OHU and former director of SCB Medical College,” said the BJD and former Chief Patna supremo. candidates.
“Since he (Dr. Hota) is a joint candidate, we appeal to all parties to support him and send him to the Rajya Sabha,” Mr. Patnaik said.
“The BJD President and my fellow MLAs have entrusted me with the difficult responsibility of representing the party as a candidate for the Raya Sabha elections. I am grateful to them for reposing their trust in me. I hope that we will move forward the issues of the people of Odisha and Odia and ensure that the BJD remains strong and returns to power in 2029,” Mr. Mishra said in his reaction.
Similarly said Dr. Hota: “I will definitely use the experience I have gained during my long career in public health if I get the opportunity to represent Odisha in the Rajya Sabha and work to strengthen the health sector.”
There are 10 Rajya Sabha MPs from Odisha — seven from the BJD and three from the BJP. The terms of BJD MPs Niranjan Bishi and Muzibulla Khan and BJP MPs Mamata Mohanta and Sujeet Kumar will end on April 2.
In the 147-member Odisha Legislative Assembly, the BJP has 79 MLAs, followed by the BJD with 50, the Congress with 14, one member from the CPI(M) and three independents. The BJP currently enjoys the support of all three independent MLAs. It may be noted that the BJD’s strength has dropped to 48 after it suspended Arvind Mohapatra, Patkura MLA, and Santana Mahakud, Champua MLA, on charges of anti-party activities.
Going by the arithmetic, which requires first preference votes from a minimum of 31 MLAs to ensure a candidate’s victory, the BJP and the BJD can comfortably send two and one candidates to the Rajya Sabha respectively. Neither party has the numerical strength to ensure the victory of a fourth candidate.
However, BJP’s Odisha in-charge of party affairs Vijay Singh Tomar had earlier said that the party would send three members from Odisha to the Upper House of Parliament.
The possibility of the BJP fielding its third candidate now appears slim as the Congress immediately announced its support for the joint candidate announced by Mr. Patnaik. If BJD and Congress come together, their number will be 62.
View of Congress
“We have made it clear that if the BJD announces a joint or independent candidate with a credible social standing, we would certainly support it. Now that Dr Hota’s name has been formally announced, we have not hesitated to support him,” said Bhakta Charan Das, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president. The OPCC president said he also discussed the Rajya Sabha election issue with the former chief minister.
“Our support to the renowned urologist is based on ideology. The aim of this move is to prevent horse-trading,” the Congress leader said.
A political analyst termed the move by the Congress as smart as it is nowhere in the race for a Rajya Sabha seat. By supporting a joint BJD candidate, it would at least prevent the BJP from fielding a third candidate.
Published – 28 Feb 2026 16:29 IST
