BJD Seeks Annulment of 'Illegal' Votes in Odisha Rajya Sabha Polls

The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has called on Odisha's Chief Electoral Officer to nullify two 'illegal' votes cast by BJP MLAs in the recent Rajya Sabha elections. The BJD claims the votes were improperly cast due to a second ballot paper being issued, which swayed the election in favor of the BJP-backed Dilip Ray.

In a memorandum submitted by a BJD delegation led by Deputy Opposition Leader Prasanna Acharya, the party argued that both MLAs received the second ballots against existing rules. This, according to the BJD, led to Ray's victory over the joint opposition candidate, Datteswar Hota.

The BJD has demanded that the Election Commission of India re-evaluate the vote count and potentially declare Hota the rightful winner. They stress that the situation warrants a statutory review and action due to its contravention of constitutionally regulated election processes.

(With inputs from agencies.)