Bhubaneswar, March 7 Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday announced the candidates of four Rajya Sabha seats, polls of which will be held on March 26.
Patnaik nominated Muna Khan, Subash Singh, Sujit Kumar and Mamata Mahanta for the four Rajya Sabha seats.
Subash Singh, chairperson of Odisha Construction Workers Welfare Board, was associated with labour and trade union movement and Biju Sramika Samukhya.
Munna Khan, Minority Affairs advisor, is a minority leader and a social worker.
Sujit Kumar is Special Development Council advisor and Mamata Mahanta is from the BJD women's wing, Mayurbhanj district.
Patnaik said that he has accepted the resignation of Subash Singh as the chairperson of Odisha Construction Workers Welfare Board.
Ramesh Chandra Chyau Patnaik has been appointed in place of Singh, said Naveen.
Four Rajya Sabha seats from Odisha are falling vacant on April 2.
The term of BJD leaders Anubhav Mohanty, Narendra Kumar Swain, Sarojini Hembram and Congress leader Ranjib Biswal is ending on April 2.
Anubhav Mohanty has already been elected to Lok Sabha in 2019 elections.
While the ruling BJD is set to win three seats easily given the number in the house of the state assembly, there will be a fight for the fourth seat as BJP has decided to field its candidate.
BJD has 113 seats in the state assembly while the BJP has 23 and the Congress 9.
( With inputs from IANS )