Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Legislative Assembly Secretariat issued the formal notification for the by-election to the Rajya Sabha seat that fell vacant after Debashish Samantaray’s resignation.
According to the notification, the nomination process will begin Monday and continue till June 8. Scrutiny of papers is scheduled for June 9, while the last date for withdrawal of candidature is June 11. Polling will be held on June 18, and counting will take place the same day after voting ends.
Assembly Secretary Satyabrata Rout has been appointed Returning Officer for the by-poll while Joint Secretary Bidyadhar Majhi will serve as Assistant Returning Officer.
The vacancy arose after Samantaray, a former BJD leader, resigned from the Upper House on May 25. He joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on May 26. Political circles are rife with speculation that the BJP may nominate Samantaray for the same seat in the by-election. If fielded and elected, he would return to the Rajya Sabha less than a month after resigning.
The Odisha seat is among 25 Rajya Sabha seats across 11 states for which by-elections will be held on June 18.
