BJP declares first list of candidates for Odisha Assembly polls

Bhubaneswar: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has released the first list of its party candidates for the Assembly polls in Odisha.

The party on Thursday night released the list of candidates for 100 seats of total 147 Assembly seats in the State.

Former State Minister Damodar Rout, who had joined the BJP recently after he was expelled by BJD President and Naveen Patnaik, will contest from Balikuda-Erasama constituency. KV Singh Deo will fight from Patnagarh seat.

The party has fielded Samir Dey from Cuttack-Barabati and Prakash Behera from Salepur seats respectively while Prithviraj Harichandan to contest from Chilika.

Jagannath Pradhan will contest from Bhubaneswar (Central), Babu Singh, who recently joined the party, will fight from Bhubaneswar (Ekamra), Dillip Mallick from Cuttack Sadar, Nayan Kishore Mohanty is the candidate from Choudwar-Cuttack.

The party has re-nominated its senior leader and former Minister Manmohan Samal from Chandbali constituency.

Padmalochan Panda, who had recently joined the BJP after quitting Congress, will contest from Simulia while Madhabananda Mallick is the party candidate from Basudevpur seat.

Similarly, the BJP has re-nominated its sitting MLA Pradeep Purohit from Padmapur seat in Bargarh district while newbie Nihar Ray will contest from Rourkela.

Prakash Chandra Behera, MLA from Salepur (Cuttack district) who had recently joined BJP after resigning from Congress, will contest from his constituency.

The party has fielded senior leader Ashok Mohanty from Pallahara Assembly segment in Angul district from where Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister and BJP’s chief minister face Dharmendra Pradhan was elected to the Assembly in 2000.

Party MLA Radharani Panda has been re-nominated from Brajrajnagar seat of the coal-belt and industrial Jharsuguda district in Western Odisha.

Kusum Tete, who had recently resigned as Chairperson of Sundargarh Special Development Council (SDC) and later quit BJD, has been fielded from Sundergarh seat. She had unsuccessfully contested from the same constituency in 2014 election.

Similarly, BJD deserter K. Narayan Rao will contest from Paralakhemundi seat.

Madanmohan Dutta is the BJP candidate from Balasore while Jayanarayan Mishra will fight from Sambalpur constituency.

The BJP, however, has not announced its candidates from Hinjili and Bijepur seats, from where BJD President and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had announced to contest the polls.

The elections for 147 Assembly seats in Odisha will be held in four phases on April 11, 18, 23 and 29.