Congress Suspends 3 Odisha MLAs For Defying Party Whip In Rajya Sabha Polls

Last Updated:March 17, 2026, 12:55 IST

Party leaders said the disciplinary steps were necessary to protect the organisation’s credibility, especially after the Rajya Sabha polls.

The Odisha Congress on Tuesday suspended three of its MLAs for defying the party whip during the recently held Rajya Sabha elections, in a move aimed at enforcing discipline within the party.

The suspended legislators — Ramesh Jena, Sofia Firdous and Dasarathi Gamang — were accused of cross-voting in favour of a BJP-backed candidate, triggering strong backlash from party leadership.

Announcing the decision, Sujit Padhy said the action was taken over “indiscipline" and violation of party directives. He stressed that such conduct would not be tolerated as it undermines the party’s collective strategy.

In a separate action, Cuttack city Congress president Giribala Behera was expelled from the party for alleged anti-party activities.

Party leaders said the disciplinary steps were necessary to protect the organisation’s credibility, especially after the Rajya Sabha polls exposed internal divisions within the state unit.

The Congress also emphasised the importance of unity ahead of upcoming political challenges, stating that cross-voting had weakened the party’s position in Odisha and damaged its public image.

Odisha Rajya Sabha Polls Results

The ruling BJP on Monday won two of the four Rajya Sabha seats from Odisha, while the opposition BJD and a saffron party-backed Independent candidate bagged one seat each in the biennial polls.

BJP’s Odisha unit president Manmohan Samal and the party’s MP Sujeet Kumar secured 35 votes each to win the elections.

BJD’s official candidate Santrupt Misra won the polls by securing 31 votes.

BJP-backed Independent candidate and former Union minister Dilip Ray won the fourth seat through second-preference votes, defeating opposition-backed nominee Datteswar Hota, who was supported by the BJD, Congress and CPI(M).

Both Ray and Hota were tied by securing 23 first preference votes each. Later, Ray was elected as the winner after counting of the second preference votes, the official said.

All 147 members of the Assembly exercised their franchise in the elections.

The elections witnessed cross-voting, with several opposition MLAs allegedly supporting BJP candidates and the BJP-backed Independent.

While the number of BJP and its supported Independent MLAs was 82 in the 147-member House, the saffron party candidates secured 93 first preference votes, which was 11 more than its strength in the Assembly. These 11 votes came from BJD (8) and Congress (3) MLAs, the official said.

News politics Congress Suspends 3 Odisha MLAs For Defying Party Whip In Rajya Sabha Polls

Read More