Bhubaneswar: The BJP Tuesday nominated its Odisha unit president Manmohan Samal and MP Sujeet Kumar as its candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections.
Samal, also a former state minister, had lost the Odisha assembly polls in 2024, while Kumar is the sitting Rajya Sabha MP and his tenure will complete in April.
The two BJP nominees will contest from Odisha for the Rajya Sabha polls scheduled March 16, said a statement issued by the party.
Samal has been considered a key leader in the BJP’s win in the assembly polls two years ago.
The opposition BJD had already announced senior party leader Santrupt Misra and eminent doctor Datteswar Hota as its candidates for the RS polls.
Four Rajya Sabha seats from Odisha will fall vacant as the tenure of the two BJD MPs and two BJP MPs will end in April.
