Mamata Mohanta.
Credit: PTI photo
Bhubaneswar: BJP candidate Mamata Mohanta Tuesday returned to the Rajya Sabha after winning unopposed in the by-election, which was necessitated by her resignation as a BJD MP and switching sides.
Mohanta was declared elected unopposed as there was no candidate in the fray when the deadline for withdrawal of nominations ended, officials said.
The opposition BJD and Congress did not field any candidates. However, BJP fielded Jagannath Pradhan as a 'dummy candidate', but he withdrew his nomination papers before the end of the deadline, paving the way for Mohanta's re-election.
Dummy candidates are often fielded by political parties to have a cushion in case the nomination of the official candidate gets rejected.
Chief Minister Maohan Charan Majhi congratulated Mohanta in the assembly after the result was declared.
Mohanta, a leader of the Kudumi community from Mayurbhanj district, had quit the BJD and resigned as its Rajya Sabha MP in July with 18 months left of her tenure, forcing the by-poll. She switched over to the BJP, which nominated her as its candidate.
BJP has 74 MLAs in the 147-member assembly and also enjoys the support of three Independent legislators. The BJD and the Congress have 51 and 14 MLAs, respectively. Along with one CPM member, the opposition did not have the numbers to corner the seat.
There are 10 Rajya Sabha seats in Odisha, and BJD holds eight of those. Following the by-poll, the ruling BJP's tally rose to two.