BHUBANESWAR: Former Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Sujeet Kumar, who resigned from the party and his Rabha Sabha seat in September, on Monday filed his nomination for the by-election to the Upper House on a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket.
Kumar filed his nomination papers in the state assembly in the presence of chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi, BJP state unit president Manmohan Samal, deputy chief minister KV Singh Deo, and other senior party members. The seat had fallen vacant following Kumar’s resignation on September 6 when he also exited from the BJD. BJD too expelled him the same day, accusing him of ‘anti-party activities’.
Kumar, 49, was earlier named as the party candidate by the BJP’s Central Election Committee. He was an engineer with IT major Infosys Technologies before shifting to the development sector and eventually joining politics.
After filing his papers, Kumar thanked the BJP leadership in Odisha. “One and half years remain (of Rajya Sabha tenure), I would like to assure the people of Odisha that I will give my best. For the last four and half years, I was in the Rajya Sabha (as BJD MP). It has been a great learning experience for me,” Kumar said, according to PTI.
The last date for filing nominations is December 10 and the election is scheduled to be held on December 20.
{{/usCountry}}The last date for filing nominations is December 10 and the election is scheduled to be held on December 20.
{{/usCountry}}Mamata Mohanta, a Kudumi leader from Mayurbhanj district, who resigned from the Rajya Sabha and BJD on July 31, later joined the BJP and was elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha.
BJD currently has 7 MPs in the Rajya Sabha.