Overview
- Datteswar Hota, named by Naveen Patnaik as the joint candidate, met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in New Delhi to secure support from the party’s 14 MLAs.
- BJP-backed Independent Dilip Ray says he expects “conscience votes,” a claim BJD leaders dispute under rules requiring MLAs to display their ballots to party agents.
- Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a closed-door meeting in Bhubaneswar with BJP leaders, including Ray, to discuss a plan to win three of the four seats.
- The 147-member Assembly’s math requires about 30 first-preference votes per seat, with tallies reported as BJP 79 plus three Independents, BJD 48, Congress 14 and CPI(M) 1.
- BJD and Congress cooperation has intensified the campaign ahead of the March 16 poll, even as BJD figures describe the arrangement as limited and not a signal of a long-term alliance.