Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], March 5 : Odisha BJP chief Manmohan Samal and Sujeet Kumar on Thursday filed their nominations for the Rajya Sabha elections in Bhubaneswar.
The nominations were filed in the presence of Mohan Charan Majhi, the Chief Minister of Odisha, along with other leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Speaking to reporters after filing his nomination, Samal said the decision was taken by the party leadership. "The party made this decision and I filed my nomination," Samal said.
Earlier in the day, BJP's Rajya Sabha candidate Rahul Sinha filed his nomination in Kolkata here on Thursday.
Sinha submitted his nomination papers in the presence of Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari and West Bengal BJP President Sukanta Majumdar.
Newly nominated Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Rajya Sabha candidate from West Bengal, Rahul Sinha, expressed gratitude for the opportunity on Wednesday, stating that the party values its workers and has instilled "a new passion in everyone".
The polling for the upcoming biennial elections to the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) to fill the 37 seats across 10 states is scheduled to take place on March 16, with the counting of votes on the same day at 5 pm.
According to the press note, the term of 37 members who were elected from Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Telangana will conclude in the month of April, vacating the seats for new members to be elected.
The last date of nominations is March 5, followed by scrutiny on March 6. The candidates can withdraw their nominations till March 9.