BJD, BJP candidates file papers for RS by-polls in Odisha

Bhubaneswar, June 24 (IANS) Two Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leaders and one Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate on Monday filed their nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha by-polls scheduled to take place in Odisha on July 5.BJD's Rajya Sabha candidates Amar Patnaik and Sasmit Patra submitted their papers to the Returning Officer (RO) at the State Assembly here.Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and other BJD MLAs were present on the occasion.BJD-backed BJP candidate Ashwini Baishnab also filed his nomination papers before the RO in presence of several BJP leaders.Three Rajya Sabha seats from Odisha fell vacant after Achyutananda Samanta, Pratap Keshari Deb and Soumya Ranjan Patnaik were elected in the recently-concluded elections.While Deb and Patnaik have been elected to the Assembly, Samanta was elected to the Lok Sabha from Kandhamal constituency.The tenure of seats vacated by Samanta and Soumya Ranjan Patnaik will end on April 3, 2024, whereas the Upper House seat vacated by Deb will end on July 1, 2022.Sources said Patra's tenure in the Upper House will be till July 1, 2022 while Amar Patnaik and Baishnab will fight for a five-year tenure.The last date for filing nomination papers for the by-polls is June 25, while scrutiny of nomination papers will be held on June 26.
--IANS cd/mag/vd