Bhubaneswar,March, 11: So far, 14 women have represented Odisha in the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of the Indian Parliament). Currently, Mamata Mahant from the BJP and Sultana Deo from the BJD are the women MPs from Odisha. The term of MP Mamata Mahant will end on April 2. For the 2026 elections, no political party has yet announced any woman candidate. After the 2026 elections, the number of women representing Odisha in the Rajya Sabha will decrease from two to one.
In the first Rajya Sabha elections held in 1952, nine members were elected from Odisha. Among them were Madhusudan Das’s foster daughter and Congress leader Shailabala Das. She played a key role in establishing the first women’s college in Odisha. Later, from 1962 to 1972, Nandini Satpathy from the Congress was elected twice to the Rajya Sabha and also served as a central minister. She later became a very popular Chief Minister of Odisha. From 1972 to 1978, Saraswati Pradhan from Congress (I) served as a Rajya Sabha member.
Saraswati, who began her political journey as a teacher, was also Odisha’s first female Education Minister. From 1990 to 1996, Meera Das represented the Janata Dal in the Rajya Sabha.
Between 1992 and 1998, Ila Panda, wife of the industrialist Bansadhar Panda, was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Janata Dal. From 1996 to 1998, Jayanti Pattnaik, wife of former Chief Minister Janaki Ballabh Pattnaik, was nominated to the Rajya Sabha from Congress (I). She was also the first Chairperson of the National Commission for Women.
From 1998 to 2002, Frida Topno represented Congress in the Rajya Sabha. From 2002 to 2008, Raj Parivar member Sushri Devi from BJD was elected to the Rajya Sabha. During the same period, influential BJD leader Pramila Bohidar from western Odisha was nominated to the Rajya Sabha. From 2006 to 2012, Congress leader Sushila Tiriya from Mayurbhanj served as a Rajya Sabha member, raising issues concerning the tribal community.
From Ganjam district, BJD leader Renubala Pradhan served from 2008 to 2014, and Sarojini Hembrom from 2014 to 2020. Sultana Deo of the BJD was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2022 and was also nominated to the Deputy Chairperson panel. Her term will continue until 2028. Earlier, in 2020, Mamata Mahant, who had joined the BJP in 2024 after leaving BJD, was elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha as a BJP candidate. Her term will end on April 2.
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