Bhubaneswar, June 28: Two Biju Janata Dal (BJD) candidates and one Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nominee was elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Odisha on Friday. The results of the biennial bypolls were declared by Odisha Assembly secretary Dasarathi Satpathy, who was the returning officer.

The three winners – BJD’s Amar Patnaik and Sasmit Patra and BJP’s Ashwini Vaishnaw were elected unopposed. While the Naveen Patnaik-led party had the numbers to get their candidates elected, it also decided to support the BJP to allow Vaishnaw to be sent to the Rajya Sabha. BJD Workers Drape Party Flag Over Army Martyr Ajit Sahoo's Coffin; Odisha Govt Faces Criticism

The Rajya Sabha bypolls were necessitated after the seats held by BJD MPs Achyutananda Samanta, Pratap Keshari Deb and Soumya Ranjan Patnaik fell vacant after they were elected to the Lok Sabha and state assembly in the recent elections.

The Congress had opposed BJD's support to BJP candidate Vaishnav, asking Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to reconsider the stand as the saffron party's nominee is facing corruption allegations.

Patnaik, however, brushed aside the apprehensions raised by the Opposition and remained firm on supporting Vaishnav.

The development indicates growing warm vibes between the two parties after the BJP ran a strong campaign against the BJD in the recent Lok Sabha and assembly polls, where the former emerged as the main challenger to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's party.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 28, 2019 05:10 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).