11 MLAs defy party whip in Odisha Rajya Sabha poll

Bhubaneswar: In a major blow to the opposition alliance in Odisha’s Rajya Sabha elections, at least 11 MLAs from the Congress and BJD reportedly defied their party directives and cross-voted in favour of BJP-supported independent candidate Dilip Ray on Monday.

Sources revealed that the cross-votes, which occurred during polling for the four vacant Rajya Sabha seats, have tilted the scales in the fiercely contested fourth seat — a race where no single party held a clear majority for a first-preference win. Dilip Ray, a former Union minister and hotelier with deep roots in Odisha politics, is backed by the ruling BJP and has long been seen as a potential disruptor, reminiscent of his dramatic 2002 victory through similar cross-voting.

According to party sources and PCC President Bhakta Charan Das, three Congress MLAs — Ramesh Jena, Dasarathi Gamang, and Sofia Firdous — crossed over despite the party’s whip and relocation of several legislators to a Bengaluru resort to prevent poaching.

On the BJD side, eight MLAs were named in reports as defying the whip. They are Devi Ranjan Tripathy, Souvic Biswal, Subasini Jena, Chakramani Kanhar, Ramakant Bhoi, Naba Kishor Mallick, Arvind Mohapatra, and Sanatan Mahakud.

Notably, BJD had earlier suspended Arvind and Sanatan but still issued them directives to adhere to party decisions ahead of the vote. The cross-voting has sparked outrage in opposition circles, with allegations of horse-trading and inducements surfacing amid arrests in Bengaluru related to alleged bribe attempts targeting Congress MLAs.

The BJP, with its 79 MLAs plus support from independents, was already positioned to secure two seats comfortably for state president Manmohan Samal and incumbent Sujeet Kumar. The opposition BJD (around 48 MLAs after suspensions) and Congress (14 MLAs) had jointly backed candidates Santrupt Misra and Dr. Datteshwar Hota to counter the BJP’s push for a third seat via Ray.

As counting of votes begins, the extent of the cross-voting impact on the fourth seat’s outcome remains under scrutiny, with political observers noting it could hand Ray a shock victory and expose cracks in the BJD-Congress understanding.