Odisha's ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has unveiled the names of nine candidates to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in the state. This decision comes after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) declared its intention to contest the parliamentary and Assembly elections in Odisha independently.
Scheduled to take place in four phases on May 1, 20, 25, and June 1, the state Assembly elections will coincide with the Lok Sabha polls.
The nine candidates announced by the BJD are as follows:
- Pranab Prakash Das (Sambalpur)
- Lambodhar Nial (Kalahandi)
- Manmath Routray (Bhubaneswar)
- Anshuman Mohanty (Kendrapara)
- Paradip Majhi (Nabarangpur)
- Dilip Tirkey (Sundargarh)
- Sudam Marandi (Mayurbhanj)
- Ranjita Sahu (Aska)
- Kaushalya Hikaka (Koraput)
Earlier, on March 22, the chief of the BJP's Odisha unit, Manmohan Samal, declared the party's determination to contest and win all 21 Lok Sabha seats and 147 Assembly seats in Odisha. He emphasized the BJP's commitment to fulfilling the aspirations of the people under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Samal also highlighted concerns that various welfare schemes initiated by the central government led by Narendra Modi were not effectively reaching the people of Odisha.
It's noteworthy that the BJD and BJP had been in alliance from 1998 to 2009, contesting together in several Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. However, the recent decision by the BJP to contest independently reflects a shift in their political strategy.
As of now, the BJP holds eight Lok Sabha seats and 23 Assembly seats in Odisha, while the BJD has 12 Lok Sabha MPs and 112 MLAs.
