Odisha’s ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Wednesday has announced the names of its candidates for nine Lok Sabha and 36 Assembly constituencies for the third and fourth phase of simultaneous elections in the State.
Of the nine nominees for the Lok Sabha seats, as many as seven will contest Parliamentary polls for the first time. Pinaki Mishra and Rabindra Kumar Jena, sitting MPs from Puri and Balasore seats respectively, are seeking re-election.
Former Police Commissioner of Mumbai Arup Patnaik will contest from Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha constituency, while sitting Rajya Sabha member Anubhav Mohanty will contest from the Kendrapara.
Former secretary of the State government’s Works Department Nalini Kanta Pradhan will be the BJD nominee for the Sambalpur Lok Sabha seat, while Debasish Marandi will contest from Mayurbhanj.
One-third seats for women
There are three women among the nine Lok Sabha candidates announced on Wednesday. While Manjulata Mandal will be the party nominee for Bhadrak, Sarmistha Sethi will contest from Jajpur and Rajashree Mallick from Jagatsinghpur.
In line with the decision of Chief Minister and party president Naveen Patnaik that 33% of its Lok Sabha seats will be given to women, the party has so far picked six women among the 18 candidates named so far.
The party, however, is yet to announce its candidates for three Lok Sabha seats – Cuttack, Dhenkanal and Keonjhar. One of the three is likely to be given to a woman.
The third and fourth phase polls in 12 Lok Sabha and 84 Assembly constituencies are scheduled to be held on April 23 and April 29.
Among the 36 candidates who will contest the Assembly elections, the BJD has given tickets to a majority of sitting legislators to avoid situations where leaders denied party tickets would quit and join rival parties.
