India, Oct. 30 -- The Orissa high court on Thursday issued notices to five Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MLAs in connection with petitions filed by the party seeking their disqualification over allegations of cross voting in the March 16 Rajya Sabha elections.

Justice MS Sahoo directed suspended MLAs Arvind Mohapatra, Sanatan Mahakud, Chakramani Kanhar, Souvic Biswal and Subasini Jena to file their replies by December 4. The court scheduled the matter for hearing on January 11 next year.

The BJD had alleged that eight of its MLAs voted in favour of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-supported independent candidate Dilip Ray instead of the BJD-Congress joint nominee Datteswar Hota in the Rajya Sabha poll. Though Ray and Hota got 23 first preference vo...