The controversy began when Upasana requested another ballot after an error on her first. BJD and Congress agents strongly objected, claiming the move violated election rules. Voting was briefly halted before resuming once the issue was addressed.Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik alleged that Upasana committed a serious error during voting and accused officials of breaking the law by issuing a second ballot. He argued that accepting her vote amounted to a violation of democratic norms and election law.Responding to Naveen’s charges, MLA Saroj Padhi countered that issuing a second ballot was not illegal. He questioned whether Naveen understood the law and clarified that Upasana had not shown her ballot to agents before requesting another. Padhi insisted that no unlawful act occurred.BJP MLA Prakash Sethi also defended Upasana, stating that the Election Commission’s rules allow a second ballot if the first ballot contains overvoting and is not shown to agents. He emphasised that the polling officer acted within regulations.The incident turned the Rajya Sabha election arena into a battlefield, with heated exchanges between parties. While opposition leaders accused the BJP of manipulating the process, BJP members maintained that the procedure followed legal norms.
