The Election Commission of India revealed the schedule for the by-election to fill the Rajya Sabha vacancy in Odisha after Debashish Samantaray’s resignation from the BJD and the Rajya Sabha. The notification for the by-election is set to be issued on June 1, with nominations accepted until June 8 and scrutiny on June 9.
Polling for the vacant Rajya Sabha seat will occur from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with vote counting starting at 5 p.m. on June 18. The entire bypoll process, as per the ECI, will conclude before June 20. Samantaray, who resigned despite being elected in April 2024, would have served until April 3, 2030.
In a blow to the opposition BJD, Samantaray resigned from the party, reducing its Upper House strength to five members. He joined the ruling BJP a day after resigning, having been a three-time MLA in the Odisha Legislative Assembly from 2000 to 2019. Samantaray cited continuous sidelining within the BJD as the reason for his resignation.
