Bhubaneswar: BJD names 15 LS and 72 Assembly poll candidates

Bhubaneswar : The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president, Naveen Patnaik, on Wednesday declared the names of 15 candidates for Lok Sabha and 72 candidates for Odisha Assembly elections.

Naveen himself will contest from Hinjili Assembly segment in Ganjam district. The BJD’s second list of six candidates for the Lok Sabha seats came barely two hours after Naveen, through a video message, announced the first list of nine Lok Sabha candidates and 72 nominees for Odisha Assembly elections.

In the second list, former Mumbai Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik has been fielded from Puri Lok Sabha seat against BJP’s Sambit Patra, while Santrupt Mishra will contest from Cuttack seat.

Naveen re-nominated three sitting MPs – Sarmistha Sethi (Jajpur), Rajashree Mallick (Jagatsinghpur) and Achyuta Samanta (Kandhamal). Abinash Samal has been named as BJD’s candidate for Dhenkanal Lok Sabha constituency.

In the first list, Naveen had named nine candidates – Lambodar Nial (Kalahandi), Pranab Prakash Das (Sambalpur), Dilip Tirkey (Sundargarh), State minister Sudam Marndi (Mayurbhanj), Ansuman Mohanty (Kendrapara), Pradeep Kumar Majhi (Nabarangpur), Manmath Routray (Bhubaneswar), Kausalya Hikaka (Koraput) and Ranjita Sahu (Aska).

The BJD has dropped six sitting MPs. They are – Pinaki Mishra (Puri), Mahesh Sahu (Dhenkanal), Bhartruhari Mahtab, who recently resigned from BJD and joined BJP, (Cuttack), Anubhav Mohanty (Kendrapara), Ramesh Majhi (Nabarangpur) and Pramila Bisoyi (Aska).

The BJD general secretary (Organisation), Pranab Prakash Das, will contest from Sambalpur Lok Sabha seat against Union minister and BJP candidate Dharmendra Pradhan.

Manmath Routray, son of veteran Congress MLA Suresh Routray, has been fielded by the BJD for Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha constituency against BJP’s Aparajita Sarangi.

While former Indian Hockey skipper Dilip Tirkey will face former Union minister and sitting MP Jual Oram in Sundargarh Lok Sabha seat, State minister Sudam Marndi will contest from Mayurbhanj Lok Sabha seat against BJP MLA Naba Charan Majhi.

Of the 15 Lok Sabha candidates, four are women. Of the 72 Assembly candidates, 13 were new faces and 12 were women candidates.

The BJD president has re-nominated most of the ministers and Assembly Speaker Pramila Mallik. Pramila will contest from her traditional Binjharpur seat in Jajpur district.

The ministers who have been re-nominated to contest the Assembly elections were: Jagannath Saraka ( Bissam Cuttack), Rita Sahu (Bijepur), Ashwini Patra (Jaleswar), Preeti Ranjan Gharai (Sukinda), Prafulla Mallick (Kamakshya Nagar), Niranjan Pujari (Sonepur), Tukuni Sahu (Titlagarh), Rajendra Dholkia (Nuapada), Pradip Amat (Boudh), Ranendra Pratap Swain (Athagarh). Pratap Deb (Aul) and Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak (Mahakalpada).

Prominent leaders who have been re-nominated to contest the Assembly elections were: Susanta Singh (Bhatli), Prafulla Samal (Bhadrak), Dibya Shankar Mishra (Junagarh), Debi Prasad Mishra (Baramba), Arun Kumar Sahoo (Nayagarh), Srikant Sahu (Polsara) and Badrinarayan Patra (Ghasipura).

Naveen’s arch political rival Bijay Mohapatra’s son Arabinda Mohapatra, who joined the BJD recently, was nominated by the party to contest from Patkura Assembly segment in Kendrapara district. Similarly, late speaker Surjya Narayan Patro’s son Biplab Patro has been nominated to contest from Digapahandi Assembly segment.

The sitting MLA from Satyabadi, Umakanta Samantaray, has been shifted to Brahmagiri, where Sanjay Das Burma had lost the 2019 elections to BJP’s Lalitendu Bidyadhar Mohapatra by over 2,000 votes. Sanjay Das Burma will contest from Satyabadi this time.

The party has fielded Sunil Mohanty, son of former Assembly Speaker Maheswar Mohanty, from Puri Sadar Assembly seat.

The party has also nominated Chinmayananda Srirup Deb, son of sitting MLA and minister Usha Devi, from Chikiti in Ganjam district. Kalikesh Singh Deo, a former MP from Bolangir seat, has been fielded from an Assembly constituency this time.

The other candidates for the Assembly polls were Raghunath Gomango from Gunupur, Anusaya Majhi from Rayagada, Debesh Acharya (Bargarh), Snehangini Chhuria (Attabira), Subhasini Jena (Basta), Sanjeeb Mallik (Bhandaripokhari), Debi Tripathy (Banki), Souvic Biswal (Cuttack Choudhwar) and Chandra Sarathi Behera (Cuttack Sadar).

Odisha has 21 Lok Sabha and 147 Assembly constituencies. Lok Sabha and Odisha Assembly elections will be held simultaneously in four phases on May 13, 20, 25 and June 1.