Samikhsya Bureau
In a big surprise, Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik brings in several new faces in nine Lok Sabha and 54 assembly seats the elections for which will be held in phase I and phase II. By this not only he has brushed aside opposition calculations regarding a fear of losing foothold in his home turf but also has thrown the ring into the opposition bastion in a bid to force the opposition back to their drawing boards.
The BJD supremo, who on Monday released the list of candidates for nine Lok Sabha and 54 assembly seats, has retained six ministers in their respective assembly seats and has inducted several new faces.
Patnaik himself has decided to contest two assembly seats for the first time in his long 19 years rule in the state. Besides his home constituency Hinjili in south Odisha, he will now contest the Bijepur assembly seat in western Odisha.
Two sitting Rajya Sabha MPs, Prasanna Acharaya and Achyut Samant, were nominated to contest Bargarh and Kandhmaql Lok Sabha seat respectively.
In the first phase of names nine Lok sabha seat released by the Chief Minister, only sitting MP Kallikesh Singdeo from Balangir Lok Sabha seat was nominated to contest his seat.
Out of the nine MP candidates declared, three are women candidates as Pattanik had earlier announced to field 33 per cent women candidate in the Lok Sabha seats.
The three new women candidates are Pramila Bisoi (Aska), Koushlya Hikaka (Koraput) and Sunita Biswal (Sundargarh-ST)
The Aska Lok sabha seat was lying vacant following the recent demise of sitting MP Ladu Kishore Swain and the party nominated prominent women self help group leader Pramila Bisoi.
For the Koraput Lok Sabha seat the party noiminated Koushlya Hikaka, wife of sitting MP Jhinna Hikaka, while former Congres chief minister Hemananda Biswal’s daughter who on March 9 resigned from the Congress and joined the BJD, was nominated to contest the Sundargarh (ST) Lok Sabha seat, presently held by Union minister Jual Oram from BJP.
State ST and SC develop minister Ramesh Chandra Majhi has bee nominated for Nabarangpur (ST) Lok Sabha seat as the sitting MP Balabhadra Majhi had resigned from the party and joined the BJP.
Actor gets booted out of the race
Actor turned politician Sidhant Mohapatra, who won the Berhampur Lok Sabha seat twice consecutively, was dropped this time and in his place former Union minister Chandra Sekhar Sahu has been chosen to contest. Sahu had resigned from the Congress and joined the BJD.
The party has dropped sitting MP from Kalahandi Arka Keshari Deo, a member royal family of Kalahandi, and in his place nominated former minister and sitting MLA form Dharmgarh assembly seat Puspendra Singh Deo in his place.
State rural development and parliamentary affairs minister Bikram Keshari Aarukh, food supplies minister S.N. Patro, water resources, housing and urban development minister Niranjan Pujari, handloom minister Snehangini Churia, energy and labour and employment minister Sushant Singh were renominated to contest from their respective assembly seat.
As many as ten women candidates have been figured in the 54 assembly seat to contest the elections.
Euphoria among western cadres of BJD
Political observers felt the BJD leaders from western Odisha this time prevailed upon the chief minister to contest assembly seat from there to check the opposition BJP and Congress who have made inroads into the region.
The recent visit of Congress president Rahul Gandhi and the victory of Congress party in Chhattisgarh bordering western Odisha, besides the resentment among the farmers leading to a number of suicides and lawyers’ agitation for high court bench had caused much panic and embarrassment for the ruling BJD leaders in the region.
By projecting chief minister Naveen Patnaik as a candidate from western Odisha, the party wants to play a regional card to woo the voters.
(With inputs from UNI)
