The Nikhila Utkal Tailika Baisya Mahasabha has urged ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) supremo and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to send a person belonging to Teli community to Rajya Sabha in the ensuing elections to the Upper House of Parliament.
Proposing the names of charted accountant Rajib Sekhar Sahoo, Prof Ananta Charan Sahu and Prof Dr Kailash Chadra Sahoo, the Teli community body appealed to Patnaik to select one of them as a BJD candidate for the Rajya Sabha polls.
In a memorandum submitted to the Chief Minister, the Mahasabha argued that the Teli community comprises 20 per cent of entire population of the State.
The community is a substantial part of the backward group in the State and substantially contributes to the economic growth of the State, especially in the field of trade and commerce, it said.
Regrettably, the representation of the Teli community in both the Houses of the Parliament is nil and hence, there is a need to select a candidate of the clan, the memorandum said.