Former Union Minister Dillip Ray won the Rajya Sabha elections from Odisha, winning the fourth and most closely contested seat on Monday. Contesting as an independent with the backing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Ray defeated the joint opposition candidate Datteswar Hota, who was supported by the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Indian National Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
Cross-voting decides the contest
Ray’s victory was largely driven by cross-voting from opposition legislators. Reports suggest that several MLAs from both the BJD and Congress voted against their party’s official candidate, giving Ray the crucial numbers in a contest where the alliances were closely matched.
Among the BJD legislators who reportedly backed Ray were Debi Ranjan Tripathy, Souvic Biswal, Chakramani Kanhar, Subasini Jena, Naba Kishor Mallick and Ramakant Bhoi, along with suspended MLAs Arabinda Mohapatra and Sanatan Mahakud. From the Congress side, Sofia Firdous, Dasarathi Gamang and Ramesh Chandra Jena were among those reported to have supported Ray.
Under the proportional representation system used in Rajya Sabha elections, Ray needed at least eight first-preference votes to stay in contention.
With the BJP’s support, backing from independents, and cross-votes from opposition MLAs, he managed to cross the required mark. Second-preference votes during the counting process further strengthened his position and sealed the win.
Political fallout in Opposition camps
The cross-voting has exposed internal divisions within both the BJD and Congress. Despite efforts by BJD chief Naveen Patnaik and Odisha Congress president Bhakta Charan Das to keep their MLAs united, several legislators reportedly broke ranks.
BJD MLA Chakramani Kanhar, who had been missing for three days before the vote, arrived directly at the Assembly to cast his ballot. Meanwhile, the cross-vote by Souvic Biswal was reportedly linked to political tensions surrounding his father, Prabhat Biswal.
The BJP had already secured two Rajya Sabha seats comfortably through its nominees Manmohan Samal and Sujeet Kumar. With Ray’s victory, the party now effectively has three representatives from Odisha among the four seats decided in this election. The remaining seat went to BJD’s Santrupt Mishra, who won as expected.
