Bhubaneshwar, Aug 27, 2024, IANS

Bhubaneswar, Aug 27 (IANS) BJP leader Mamata Mohanta was elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Odisha on Tuesday following the withdrawal of nomination by the party's 'back-up' candidate Jagannath Pradhan who filed his papers as an Independent nominee. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi greeted Mohanta after she was reelected to the Upper House of the parliament. Opposition parties Biju Janata Dal and Congress didn't field any candidate, paving the way for Mohanta's unopposed election. Notably, the by-election for the lone Rajya Sabha seat in Odisha was scheduled to be held on September 3. Senior BJP leader Pradhan earlier in the day withdrew his nomination filed on August 21. He had filed nomination as an Independent candidate just a few hours after Mohanta filed her papers for the Rajya Sabha seat. While speaking to mediapersons on Tuesday, senior BJP leader Pradhan said, “As a disciplined worker of the Bharatiya Janata Party, I have successfully discharged the responsibility which the party had assigned to me. I would like to thank my party leaders for giving me the responsibility.” Pradhan had contested the recent Assembly elections from the Bhubaneswar Central seat, but lost to Biju Janata Dal’s Ananta Narayan Jena by a slender margin of 37 votes. On the other hand, Mohanta on July 31 tendered her resignation from the Upper House as well as the primary membership of the BJD. She resigned from the Rajya Sabha two years before the completion of her tenure. The former BJD leader joined the BJP in New Delhi the next day. The BJP announced her candidature for the vacant Rajya Sabha seat from Odisha on August 20. Mohanta, a well-known social activist and leader of the Kudumi community, belongs to Mayurbhanj district in Odisha. She was also a former member of the Zilla Parishad in Mayurbhanj district from 2012 to 2017.