The Rajya Sabha,also known as the Council of States,is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. As of 2023,it has a maximum membership of 250,of which 238 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using single transferable votes through open ballots,while the president can appoint 12 members for their contributions to art,literature,science,and social service. The total allowed capacity is 250 according to article 80 of the Indian Constitution. The current potential seating capacity of the Rajya Sabha is 245,after the Jammu and Kashmir (Reorganisation) Act. The maximum seats of 250 members can be filled up at the discretion and requirements of the house of Rajya Sabha.
Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu is an Indian politician who served as the 13th vice president of India from 2017 to 2022. He has also served as the minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation,Urban Development and Information and Broadcasting in the Modi Cabinet.
The Biju Janata Dal is an Indian regional political party with significant influence in the state of Odisha. It was founded by the former minister of mines and minerals of the Republic of India Naveen Patnaik on 26 December 1997 as a breakaway faction from the Janata Dal. The BJD is led by its founder as president of the party. The headquarters of the party is located in Forest Park,Bhubaneswar.
Naveen Patnaik is an Indian politician who served as the 14th Chief Minister of Odisha from 5 March 2000 to 12 June 2024. His 24-year reign is the second longest for a chief minister of any Indian state,after Pawan Kumar Chamling of Sikkim. He is the first president of the Biju Janata Dal since 1997. He served as the Union Minister of Steel and Mines from 1998 to 2000 and a member of the Lok Sabha from Aska from 1997 to 2000.
Rayagada is a municipality in Rayagada district in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the administrative headquarters of Rayagada district.
Sushma Swaraj was an Indian lawyer and politician,who served as the Minister of External Affairs of India in the first Narendra Modi government from 2014 to 2019. She was the second person to complete a 5-year term as the Minister of External Affairs,after Jawaharlal Nehru. A senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),Swaraj was the second woman to hold the office of Minister of External Affairs,after Indira Gandhi. She was elected seven times as a Member of Parliament and three times as a Member of the Legislative Assembly. At the age of 25 in 1977,she became the youngest cabinet minister of the Indian state of Haryana. She also served as 5th Chief Minister of Delhi for a short duration in 1998 and became the first female Chief Minister of Delhi.
Dilip Tirkey,is a former captain of the Indian field hockey team,politician and sports administrator. He was awarded Padma Shree in 2004. Currently he is the president of Hockey India.
Prasanna Acharya is an Indian politician from Odisha,India. He is a former member of parliament in the Rajya Sabha. He is a member of the Biju Janata Dal.
Dharmendra Pradhan is an Indian politician who is serving as Union Minister of Education since 2021. He also served as Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in the Government of India from 2021 to 2024. An alumnus of Talcher Autonomous College and Utkal University,he has also been the Minister of Petroleum &Natural Gas and the Minister of Steel.
The Government of Odisha and its 30 districts consists of an executive,led by the Governor of Odisha,a judiciary,and a legislative branch.
Shashi Bhusan Behera is an Indian politician from the Biju Janata Dal party. He is the Finance and excise minister of Odisha State. He was a former member of Rajya Sabha and Member of the Legislative Assembly of Odisha. Former General Secretary and Vice–President of State Yuva Biju Janata Dal,President Orissa Dalit Sena,Vice President Samatamancha,State Executive Member H.M.S.,General Secretary All Orissa Kaibarta Mahasangha,Founder Secretary of Cuttack Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital. Elected Member of National Telephone Advisory Committee in 2001 to 2002.
Kalpataru Das was an Indian politician from the Odisha state. He belonged to the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) party. He won the Odisha Legislative Assembly election,1995 from Dharmasala constituency of Jajpur district,which he held consecutively from 1995-2014. On 2 August 2012,he was given the portfolio of Panchayati Raj Minister. From 3 April 2014,he was an MP of Rajya Sabha. In 2013,he was State Panchayati Raj Minister and Parliamentary Affairs Minister. He died on 25 July 2015,aged 67. He was cremated on Sunday evening at Bhotaka in Tehsil Kuakhia,Jajpur district,from where he belonged,by his eldest son BJD MLA Pranab Balabantaray.
Sarojini Hembram is an Indian politician from the Odisha state. She belongs to the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) party. She was elected to the Odisha Legislative Assembly from Bangriposi in 2009 and became the minister for textile,handlooms and handicrafts in the Odisha Government. She was elected to the Rajya Sabha the Upper house of Indian Parliament in 2014 from Odisha.
Arun Singh is an Indian politician who holds the positions of National General Secretary and Head Quarter In-charge of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Singh is currently serving his second term as a member of parliament in the Rajya Sabha. Over the period,Singh has discharged the responsibility as BJP's State Incharge of various states,including Andhra Pradesh,Rajasthan,Karnataka,Odisha,Jharkhand and Ladakh.
N. Bhaskar Rao is an Indian politician from the state of Odisha. He is a leader of the Biju Janata Dal. His hometown is Rayagada. He was also Deputy Chairman of Odisha state's planning board and is also an industrialist.
Rajya Sabha elections were held in India in 2015 to elect eight members of the Rajya Sabha,the upper house of the Indian Parliament. Five by-elections were also held. The regular elections were held to fill seats in the States of Jammu and Kashmir,Kerala,and the Union Territory of Pondicherry.
Elections were held in India on 21 July and 8 August 2017 as nomination contests by state legislators routinely for ten members of the Rajya Sabha across three states,replacing those who retired in July and August 2017. The State Legislatures which contribute in this six-year minor elections/nomination cycle are Goa,Gujarat and West Bengal. The mechanism is the single transferable vote (STV) among legislators,meaning nominations may be unopposed contests. The open ballot is used rather than secret ballot,allowing public scrutiny.
Pratap Keshari Deb is an Indian politician from the state of Odisha. In May 2017,he won a bypoll to the Rajya Sabha seat from Odisha constituency which was vacated by Bishnu Charan Das when he was appointed chairman of Odisha State Planning Board. Pratap Deb filed a nomination and won the seat uncontested on 18 May 2017. He will complete the remainder of his term until 1 July 2022.
Rajya Sabha elections were held in 2018 to elect the 65 retiring members of the Rajya Sabha,Indian Parliament's upper chamber. There were,as routine,three such elections held among relevant State and Union Territory legislators by single transferable vote (STV) and Open Ballot:on 16 January to elect 3 members from Delhi and 1 member from Sikkim;on 23 March to elect 58 members from 16 States;and lastly on 21 June to elect 3 members from Kerala. Being even-numbered,2018 was a year in which about 30% of the State Legislature-elected 233-seat component of the body is elected. The other 12 seats of the body are appointed by the President.
Ashwini Vaishnaw is an Indian politician,former IAS officer and a businessman who serving as 39th Minister of Railways,35th Minister of Information and Broadcasting and 2nd Minister of Electronics and Information Technology since 2024.
