By IANS,
Bhubaneswar : Three candidates of Orissa’s ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Friday filed their nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha elections June 17, an official said.
Pyari Mohan Mohapatra, Sashi Bhusan Behera and Baishnab Parida filed their nomination papers in the presence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, a state assembly official told IANS.
The state will have three vacancies in the upper house of parliament with Mohapatra, the Congress’s Radhakanta Naik and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Bhagirathi Majhi completing their tenures July 1.
The BJD has re-nominated Mohapatra, besides fielding Behera, a former legislator and Parida, the party general secretary for other two seats.
In the 147-member assembly, the BJD has 103 members, Congress 27, the BJP six, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) four, and the Communist Party of India one. There are six Independent members.
The BJD can ensure Mohapatra and Behera’s election on its own strength as each require 37 first preference votes.
However, it has to obtain the support of eight other members to get its Parida through. The NCP has already announced its support to BJD candidate. The Independent members are likely to play key role in the election of third candidate, political observers said.