Lok Sabha Elections 2019: BJD releases first list of candidates for Odisha

Bhubaneswar, Mar 18: With a few weeks left for Lok Sabha and assembly polls, Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Naveen Patnaik announced candidates for 9 Parliamentary Constituencies and 54 Assembly Constituencies for upcoming elections in the state.

The nine Lok Sabha candidates include Chandra Sekhar Sahu (Berhampur), Kousalya Hikaka (Koraput), Achyuta Samanta (Kandhamal), Puspendra Singh Deo (Kalahandi) , Ramesh Majhi (Nabarangpur), Prasanna Acharya (Bargarh) Sunita Biswal (Sundergarh) Pramila Bisoi (Aska) and Kalikesh Singh Deo (Bolangir).

For the Assembly polls, the 54 candidates include Naveen Patnaik (Hinjli, Bijepur), Jagannath Sadak (Bissam Cuttack), Raghunath Gomango (Gunupur), Lal Bihari Himirika (Rayagada), Rabi Narayan Nanda (Jeypore), Snehangini Chhuria (Atabira), Bikram Panda (Berhampur), Raghunath Gomango (Gunupur), Usha Devi (Chikiti),Pradeep Panigrahi (Gopalpur), Surya Narayan Patro (Digapahandi), Prabhu Jani (Lakshmipur), Subash Chadra Behera (Chhatrapur), Sushant Singh (Bhatli), Naba Das (Jharsuguda), Purna Chandra Swain (Sorada), Bikram Keshari Arukha (Bhanjanagar), Manjula Swain (Aska), Pradeep Amat (Boudh), Ramesh Behera (Daspalla), Niranjan Pujari (Sonepur), Kalyani Gajapati (Paralakhemundi), Ajay Das (Kantabanjhi), Padmanav Behera (Biramaharajpur), Latika Pradhan (Kabisuryanagar), Srikant Sahu (Polsara), Nandini Devi (Sanakhemundi), KK Suryamani Baidya (Khallikote).

The BJD won 20 out of 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha in 2014. It has kept its options open, not aligning with either the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) or the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), ahead of the four-phase polling in the state from April 11 to 29.

The party is set to announce seven women candidates after BJD chief and chief minister Naveen Patnaik announced 33% reservation for women.

Odisha will go to polls in four phases from April 11 to April 29.

According to reports, Naveen Patnaik is most likely to contest the Assembly election from one of the seats in the western region of the State. The development assumes significance in view of the Bharatiya Janata Party's impressive performance in western Odisha in the panchayat elections in 2017.

Patnaik has been winning from the Hinjili Assembly seat under the Aska Lok Sabha constituency in south Odisha since 2000.