New Delhi/Bhubaneswar: The BJP has appointed senior leaders as central observers for the Rajya Sabha elections in three states, including Odisha, scheduled for March 16.
Chandrashekhar Bawankule, a minister from Maharashtra, has been assigned to Odisha, a notification issued by BJP national general secretary Arun Singh said.
Similarly, Union Minister Harsh Malhotra and Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma have been appointed as central observers for the polls in Bihar, and Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi for Haryana.
Five candidates are in the fray for the four seats from Odisha, which will fall vacant on April 2. The ruling BJP has fielded its state president Manmohan Samal and outgoing MP Sujeet Kumar. The party has also thrown its weight behind former Union Minister Dilip Ray, who filed his nomination as an Independent candidate, turning the race for the fourth seat into a gripping political showdown overshadowed by the looming risks of cross-voting and horse-trading.
Santrupt Misra, senior leader and political secretary to leader of the Opposition Naveen Patnaik, and noted urologist Dr Datteswar Hota are the BJD’s pick with the latter positioned as a “common candidate” with support from Congress and the CPM to thwart a BJP sweep in the polls.
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