Bhubaneswar, March 4 -- Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) President Bhakta Charan Das confirmed that he spoke to former Union Minister Dilip Ray over the phone on Wednesday regarding ongoing Rajya Sabha election developments.

Bhakta Das instead batted for the common candidate of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Congress, Dr Datteswar Hota, calling the bid an ideological fight but not about personal ties.

Describing Dilip Ray as a good friend, Bhakta Das said he was unable to understand why Ray chose to contest as an Independent candidate at the last moment. He stated that he had earlier suggested Ray could consider contesting as a candidate from either the BJD or Congress, but Ray had not responded clearly at that time.

According to Das...