Bhubaneswar, Mar 5: Candidates backed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — Manmohan Samal and Sujeet Kumar — along with senior politician Dilip Ray filed their nomination papers on Thursday for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections from Odisha.

The nominations were submitted at the Odisha Legislative Assembly in the presence of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and senior BJP leader Jayanarayan Mishra.

Dilip Ray entered the race as an Independent candidate supported by the BJP to contest against Datteswar Hota, the nominee of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), for the crucial fourth Rajya Sabha seat. The elections are scheduled for March 16.

Before filing his nomination, Ray paid tribute to legendary leader Biju Patnaik on his birth anniversary and expressed confidence about winning despite lacking the required 30 first-preference votes.

Based on the Assembly strength, the BJP is expected to secure two seats comfortably, while the BJD may win one. With surplus votes still short of the required number, the contest for the fourth seat between Ray and Hota is expected to be closely fought.

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