The Aryavarth Express Bhubaneswar: Naveen Patnaik, chief of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Leader of Opposition in the Odisha Legislative Assembly, on Monday alleged irregularities during voting for the Rajya Sabha elections, claiming that election rules were violated when a legislator was issued a second ballot paper.
Speaking in Bhubaneswar, Naveen Patnaik said the MLA from the Brahmagiri Assembly constituency made an error while casting her vote. According to him, the polling officer accepted the incorrectly cast vote and later issued a second ballot paper, which he alleged was against election rules. The constituency is currently represented by Upasna Mohapatra, though Patnaik did not mention her by name while raising the allegation.
“The MLA of Brahmagiri had made a clear mistake while voting. But the officer in charge of the voting room illegally accepted her vote and issued a second ballot paper. This is totally against democratic norms and a violation of election rules,” Patnaik said.
He added that the BJD had strongly objected to the action but claimed that election officials were not responding to their concerns. “We are objecting strongly, but they are not listening, thereby totally destroying the democratic election process,” he said.
Voting for the Rajya Sabha polls in Odisha is currently underway, with members of the state assembly casting ballots to elect representatives to the Upper House of Parliament.
The biennial Rajya Sabha elections are being held to fill 37 seats across 10 states. The terms of members from Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Telangana are set to expire in April.
Out of the 37 seats, 26 candidates have already been elected unopposed. Voting is being held for the remaining 11 seats — four from Odisha, five from Bihar and two from Haryana. Counting of votes is scheduled to begin at 5 pm, with results expected later in the day.
