Odia film actor and BJD leader Anubhav Mohanty is the official BJD candidate for the lone Rajya Sabha seat, the election for which will be held on June 19.
This was announced by BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who returned here on Thursday after a weeklong visit to New Delhi.
The RS seat has fallen vacant after AU Singh Deo was asked to vacate it and contest the Assembly polls from his old Balangir constituency, which he failed to retain this time. Though Singh Deo was interested for re-nomination as a candidate this time, Patnaik did not favour him.
While the BJD supremo kept his promise of sending Anubhav Mohanty to the Rajya Sabha, his present announcement has put to rest all speculation over who finally would get the party ticket for the seat, which ensures a term of full six years.
Besides Singh Deo, a number of other senior BJD leaders like former Ministers Prafulla Chandra Ghadai, Prasanna Acharya and Kalindi Behera were also in the race for the RS seat.
“I was assured of a Rajya Sabha ticket by the BJD president,” Ghadai, one of the party vice-presidents, told reporters.
Naveen Patnaik’s move to nominate the political greenhorn and, that too, a film actor, over experienced and senior party leaders is believed to have been in line with his new strategy to eventually sideline the old guards from the party.