Odisha: BJP & BJD release fresh lists of candidates for Assembly polls

Bhubaneswar, April 27 The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Odisha on Saturday released fresh lists of candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections.

The BJP declared the names of candidates for eight Assembly constituencies.

Odia cine star Arindam Roy has been fielded from Salipur Assembly segment of Kendrapara Lok Sabha constituency.

The party has nominated sitting Chilika MLA Prasanta Kumar Jagadev from Khorda Assembly seat of Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha constituency.

Similarly, BJP declared former BJD leader and sitting MLA Seemarani Nayak as its nominee for Hindol Assembly seat.

Nayak recently joined a BJP after being denied a ticket by the ruling party.

Geetanjali Sethi, Banikalyan Mohanty, Fakir Mohan Naik, Murali Manohar Sharma and Rabindra Andia have been nominated for Kendrapara, Basudevpur, Telkoi, Champua and Basta Assembly constituencies, respectively.

On the other hand, BJD president and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday announced the candidates' names for three more Assembly seats in the state.

The ruling party has fielded Gautam Buddha Das and Rajendra Kumar Sahoo from Bhograi and Khorda Assembly seats, respectively.

Rajendra Sahoo, the sitting MLA from Begunia Assembly seat, has replaced Jyotindra Nath Mitra in Khorda constituency.

The party has fielded Pradeep Kumar Sahoo from Begunia Assembly seat this time.

Meanwhile, the ruling party has replaced sitting MLA Ananta Das in Bhograi Assembly seat.

The BJP has so far declared candidates for 142 Vidhan Sabha seats while the BJD announced 144 names. Odisha has a total of 147 Assembly seats.

Notably, Assembly and Lok Sabha elections will be held simultaneously in Odisha in four phases from May 13 to June 1.

Source: IANS