Stepping up for the Rajya Sabha polls scheduled for March 16, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president and former Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday announced two candidates for the four Upper House vacancies from the state, even as the party lacks adequate numbers in the state Assembly to ensure their win.
After multiple rounds of discussions with BJD MLAs, Patnaik named Santrupt Misra, his political secretary, as the party’s official nominee, while also nominating Datteswar Hota, a renowned urologist, as a “common candidate”.
“Dr Datteswar Hota is a renowned doctor from Odisha, who was the first vice-chancellor of the Odisha Health University and was also the principal of the SCB Medical College and Hospital, in Cuttack. Since he is a common candidate, I appeal to all the parties to support him and send him to the Rajya Sabha,” Patnaik told reporters at Naveen Niwas, his residence.
In response to queries whether the ruling BJP and the Opposition Congress would support Hota’s candidature, Patnaik said he was hopeful.
The upcoming polls will involve a total of 37 Rajya Sabha seats across 10 states, including four in Odisha. Going by strength of various parties in the state Assembly, the BJP has enough MLAs to secure at least two Upper House seats, while the principal Opposition BJD has the numbers for one seat, with the fourth seat seemingly up for grabs. Currently, the BJP and the BJD each hold two of these seats.
In the 147-member Odisha House, the BJP currently has 79 MLAs while also having the support of three Independent legislators. The BJD’s tally has dropped to 48 MLAs after it recently suspended two MLAs for alleged anti-party activities. The Congress has 14 MLAs, while the CPI(M) has one. As per the formula for electing Rajya Sabha MPs from Odisha, a candidate would need at least 30 first-preference valid votes to win his seat.
According to BJD sources, Patnaik, by calling all the MLAs to his residence before announcing the names of two candidates, attempted to project a united front and that his decision has the endorsement of all his MLAs. Sources said it is part of his strategy to prevent cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha polls.
By announcing two candidates, rather than just one for the seat it was guaranteed to win, Patnaik has sought to put the BJP in a spot. The BJP had been eyeing three of the four seats, leaving one to the BJD. The BJP is yet to name its candidates as its leaders said the party’s Parliamentary Board will take a call on the names and whether to support the “common candidate” or field a third candidate.
If the BJP fields a third candidate, the Rajya Sabha race could see a political jousting. Odisha had last seen a contested Rajya Sabha election in February 2014, when former player and cricket administrator Ranjib Biswal, a Congress nominee, won the fourth seat against renowned sculptor Raghunath Mohapatra, whose candidature was proposed by the BJD with the BJP’s support.
Congress stance
With the Patnaik-led party in the Opposition for the first time after ruling the state for 24 years, Odisha is also expected to see a new political equation, with the Congress announcing its support for Patnaik’s common candidate.
Talking to media in Delhi, Odisha Congress chief Bhakta Charan Das said they will support Hota’s candidature for the “larger interest” of the state.
“I had met Naveen babu on Monday to discuss a common candidate. As no party has the clear numbers for the fourth candidate, I had told him that if a common candidate can be fielded with the support of the BJD and the Congress, the seat can be secured. We had said we would give our support if a non-political candidate renowned in his/her respective field can be announced as the common candidate,” said the state Congress chief.
Das said Hota had also met him Thursday to discuss his possible candidature. “Naveen babu has taken the right decision by fielding Dr Hota, who is an internationally-renowned urologist and has helped lakhs of poor people by organising health camps in inaccessible areas of the state,” said Das, adding he also consulted the Congress high command in this regard.
Over the years, the BJD has come to be known as a trusted, albeit unofficial, ally of the Narendra Modi government, having extended support to the NDA dispensation on numerous occasions, from the passage of key legislation in Parliament to the elections to the posts of the President and the Vice-President.
Amid speculation that the BJD is leaning towards the Opposition INDIA bloc, after fielding a common candidate with the Congress’s support, party leaders said it’s too early to make such predictions.
BJD’s RS nominees
Hota, who completed his MBBS from the SCB Medical College, the premier medical education centre in the state since 1983, has been working as a doctor for over 40 years. He completed his MCh in Urology from PGIMER, Chandigarh in 1994 and became a prominent urologist after working across the country.
Besides serving as the principal of the SCB Medical College and subsequently the Vice-Chancellor of the Odisha Health University, Hota was a key member in shaping the previous BJD governments’ public health policies.
Speaking to reporters, Hota said, if elected, he would utilise his experiences to strengthen the country’s public health system.
Misra, the former director, Group Human Resources, at the Aditya Birla Group, had taken early retirement from his corporate role and joined the BJD months before the 2024 Assembly and Lok Sabha polls. Misra unsuccessfully contested the Cuttack Parliamentary seat but was later appointed as first political secretary to Patnaik after the BJD was ousted from power by the BJP in the 2024 polls.
