Mamata Mahanta, who was elected to the Upper House of the Parliament from Odisha on a BJD ticket in March 2020, was reelected to the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday as BJP member in less than a month after the act of party-hopping by the other backward caste leader.

Mahanta, who resigned from the BJD on 31 July to join BJP a day later at the party’s national headquarters in New Delhi, was elected unopposed as the Opposition BJD and Congress, aware of the fact that they do not have the numbers, decided not to contest the Rajya Sabha election.

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With Mahanta getting elected, the numerical strength of BJP in the Rajya Sabha from Odisha has increased to two. The incumbent railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw was earlier elected to the Rajya Sabha as a BJP MP with the support of the BJD. Then, bonhomie between the regional party and the national party was intact. Vaishnaw was elected to the Rajya Sabha twice in successive terms with BJD extending support to BJP.

The BJP, which formed its maiden government in Odisha after tasting electoral victory in the 2024 Assembly polls, has 78 MLAs in the 147-member Odisha Assembly. With the party managing to get the support of three Independent MLAs, practically its strength in the House stands at 81.

The strength of BJD in Rajya Sabha has gone down to eight after Mahanta quitting the party.