Putting at rest all speculations, BJD supremo and chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday renominated five time sitting MP Bhartruhari Mahatab for Cuttack Lok Sabha seat but denied party ticket to finance minister Sashi Bhusan Behera.
With Mahatab in the fray again, the BJD had so far released 19 of the 21 Lok sabha seats and yet to finalise the candidates for Dhenkanal and Keonjhar (ST) seat.
Similarly, with the release of nine names for assembly seats, the BJD had completed the candidates list in 135 of the total 147 Assembly seat.
State finance minister Behera was denied party ticket from Jaydev assembly seat, which went to former minister Arabinda Dhali.
Besides, Behera, the other three sitting MLAs dropped in the fresh list of nine candidates for assembly seat are Saiba Sunshi Kumar Hansda (Rairangpur), Debashis Nayak ( Bari) and Praveen Chandra Bhanj Deo (Moroda).
Debashis Nayak, considered as trusted man of Patnaik, was also denied party ticket to contest Bari assembly seat and in his place,the party nominated Sunanda Das to seek election.
Former minister and member of Mayurbhanj royal family Praveen Chandra Bhanjdeo was also denied party ticket from Morada and in his place the party nominated Raj Kishore Das, who recently resigned from the BJP and joined the BJD.
However, before the BJD announced the candidate list, Bhanja Deo resigned from the primary membership of the party and as BJD’s Mayurbhanj district president alleging large scale indiscipline in the party in which he said the senior leaders were being ignored.
The Moroda sitting MLA had also hinted that the party decided to nominate a person who recently shifted his loyalty and defeated thrice from the seat in the past.
Mahatab who has been adjudged as the best Parliamentarian, and winning the Cuttack Lok Sabha seat consecutively in a row for five times since 1998 Lok sabha elections , will now take on former CRPF director general and also former Odisha DGP Prakash Mishra who has been nominated by BJP for the seat.
The opposition Congress is yet to announce its candidate for Cuttack Lok Sabha seat.
The BJD had so far retained the Lok Sabha seat of four sitting MPs. They are KalikeshNarayan Singh Deo (Balangir), Rabindra Kumar Jena (Balasore), Pinaki Mishra (Puri) and Bhartruhari Mahatab (Cuttack).
Out of 19 Lok sabha seats declared so far, the BJD had dropped 12 sitting MPs.
Sitting BJD MP Tathagat Satpathy from Dhenkanal Lok Sabha seat had already announced his retirement from active politics to concentrate on his profession in journalism. He is the editors of Odia daily Dharitri and English daily Orissa Post. (UNI)
