4 min readBhubaneswarUpdated: Mar 15, 2026 05:50 PM IST Fears of cross-voting have triggered political caution in Odisha ahead of voting for the fourth Rajya Sabha seat, where no party has clear numbers. While the Congress has moved some of its MLAs to a private resort in Bengaluru, the BJD has stepped up efforts to keep its legislators together. Party president and former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has asked BJD MLAs to attend two-hour meetings at his residence, Naveen Niwas, for three days starting Friday. According to Patnaik’s letter to party legislators, the meetings will include presentations and training sessions on the Rajya Sabha poll procedure and voting process. “A contest in the Rajya Sabha election in Odisha is being held after 12 years. The last time it was held was in February 2014. Many MLAs are not familiar with the voting process, so it is important to train them to ensure votes are not rejected,” a senior BJD leader said. On Sunday, Patnaik is scheduled to chair a BJD legislature party meeting at his …