BJP names 18 candidates for LS polls

Bhubaneswar: The BJP on Sunday announced the names of its candidates for 18 of the 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha, while dropping four sitting MPs from the list. The nominees for Cuttack, Jajpur and Kandhamal Lok Sabha constituencies are yet to be named by the party. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan will be contesting from Sambalpur seat. The sitting MPs who were denied BJP tickets this time are Suresh Pujari (Bargarh), Union minister Bishweswar Tudu (Mayurbhanj), Nitesh Gang Deb (Sambalpur) and Basant Panda (Kalahandi).

The party has nominated Pradeep Purohit in place of Pujari while Dharmendra Pradhan replaced Nitesh Gang Deb in Sambalpur.

Rairangpur MLA Naba Charan Majhi has replaced Bishweswar Tudu in Mayurbhanj seat. Malvika Keshari Deo is made the new candidate in place of Basant Kumar Panda in Kalahandi Lok Sabha seat.

The sitting MPs who have been retained are Jual Oram (Sundargarh), Pratap Chandra Sarangi (Balasore), Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo (Bolangir) and Aparajita Sarangi (Bhubaneswar). The other BJP candidates are Ananta Nayak (Keonjhar), Abhimanyu Sethi (Bhadrak), Rudra Pany (Dhenkanal), Baijayant Panda (Kendrapara), Balabhadra Majhi (Nabarangpur), Bibhu Tarai (Jagatsinghpur ), Sambit Patra (Puri), Pradeep Panigrahy (Berhampur) and Kaliram Majhi (Koraput).