Bhubaneswar, Apr 3 (UNI) BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik, on Wednesday, released the names of party candidates for five more Lok Sabha and 27 Assembly seats in Odisha.
Earlier, Patnaik had released the names of candidates for 15 Lok Sabha seats in two phases and 72 Assembly seats in the first phase.
On Wednesday, the BJD President released the names of party candidates for five more Lok Sabha seats in the third phase and 27 Assembly seats in the second phase.
With today’s lists, the BJD has so far announced the names of candidates for 20 Lok Sabha seats and is still undecided about the Balasore Lok Sabha seat.
Similarly, out of 147 Assembly seats, the BJD has already released the names of party candidates for 99 Assembly seats and is yet to decide on candidates for 48 Assembly seats.
BJP Odisha unit Vice President Bhrugu Baxipatra, who resigned from the primary membership of the party during the day and later joined the BJD, was nominated by the party to contest the Berhampur Lok Sabha seat, replacing sitting MP Chandra Sekhar Sahu.
Sahu was appointed as the Vice President of the party and also the chairman of BJD Manifesto Committee by Party President Naveen Patnaik during the day.
In another development, former Congress Minister and three-time MLA Surendra Singh Bhoi, who recently quit the party and joined the BJD, has been fielded for the Bolangir Lok Sabha seat.
Parinita Mishra, who resigned from the BJP and joined the BJD a few hours ago, was nominated by the party as the Lok Sabha candidate from Bargarh parliamentary constituency.
Former Congress MLA Dhanurjay Sidu, who had also quit the party and joined the BJD in the recent past, has been fielded as the party candidate for Keonjhar Lok Sabha seat.
Congress sitting MLA from Khariar Assembly seat Adhiraj Panigrahi, who defected from the party and joined the BJD, has been named as the party candidate for the Khariar Assembly seat.
The BJD renominated Science and Technology Minister Ashok Panda and the party’s chief whip Prashant Muduli to contest the Ekamra and Jagatsinghpur Assembly seats, respectively.
UNI DP CS2035