Bhubaneswar: BJP leader Mamata Mohanta was today elected to the Rajya Sabha from Odisha, unopposed.

She went to the Odisha Legislative Assembly to collect the election certificate.

Opposition parties BJD and Congress hadn't fielded any candidate for the poll.

BJP leader Jagannath Pradhan, who had filed nomination as an Independent candidate, withdrew it today. Pradhan had on August 21 filed his nomination as an Independent candidate after Mohanta filed her nomination as the party's candidate in the presence of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi.

Notably, Mohanta had been elected to the Rajya Sabha on a BJD ticket in April, 2020. Her tenure as Rajya Sabha MP was to end in April of 2026.

The woman leader from Mayurbhnaj, however, resigned from the Rajya Sabha as well as the primary membership of BJD on July 31.

A day after her resignation, Mohanta joined the BJP in New Delhi. The Rajya Sabha by-poll in Odisha became necessary due to the resignation of Mohanta from the upper house of the Parliament.

Mohanta is a noted social activist and leader of the Kudumi community.