Biju Janata Dal Nominates 4 Candidates For Rajya Sabha Elections

The BJD named three new candidates - Sulata Deo, Manas Ranjan Mangarj and Niranjan Bishi - and renominated Sasmit Patra for the Rajya Sabha polls.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday announced four candidates of the ruling Biju Janata Dal for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections.

The BJD named three new candidates - Sulata Deo, Manas Ranjan Mangarj and Niranjan Bishi - and renominated Sasmit Patra for the polls to the upper house of Parliament.

The announcement came on a day that marks the third anniversary of the Naveen Patnaik-led government's fifth tenure in the state.

The tenure of three Rajya Sabha MPs from Odisha -- Nekkanti Bhaskar Rao, Prasanna Acharya and Sasmit Patra -- will end on July 1, while another seat in the upper house of Parliament fell vacant due to the resignation of BJD's Subhas Singh.