Bhubaneswar, Feb 13: Amid the suspense over the third candidate from Odisha for the ensuing Rajya Sabha elections, BJP leader and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw will arrive in Bhubaneswar tomorrow as part of his two-day visit to the State, sources said on Tuesday.

According to the sources, after his arrival to the State Capital on Wednesday, Vaishnaw  will visit BJP's State headquarters and meet party leaders. Later, he is scheduled to review the Railway and BSNL projects here on the same day.

On Thursday, the Railway Minister will attend some local programmes here.

Meanwhile, suspense still remains over who will be the candidate for the third Rajya Sabha seat from Odisha.

Three Rajya Sabha seats will fall vacant after the terms of Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw (BJP) and BJD leaders Prasant Nanda and Amar Patnaik will end in April, 2024.

Speculations have been rife whether the Railway Minister can again be the surprise choice for the Upper House, supported by the BJD.

In 2019, BJD had supported BJP candidate Vaishnaw, who was elected to the Upper House of Parliament.

Also Read: BJD Nominates Debasish Samantray, Subhasish Khuntia  As Party’s Rajya Sabha Candidates

According to a notification, the election to the three Rajya Sabha seats in Odisha will be held on February 27 between 9 AM and 4 PM on the State Assembly premises and the counting of votes will take place at 5 PM.

The last date for filing of nominations is February 15.

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