Odisha Elections (Elections)https://www.newindianexpress.comen-usThu, 28 Mar 2024 23:14:21 +0000Business worth Rs 10,000 crore to self-help groups in Odisha in next five yearshttps://www.newindianexpress.com/elections/odisha-elections/2023/Mar/07/business-worth-rs-10000-crore-to-self-help-groups-in-odishain-next-five-years-2553956.htmlhttps://www.newindianexpress.com/elections/odisha-elections/2023/Mar/07/business-worth-rs-10000-crore-to-self-help-groups-in-odishain-next-five-years-2553956.html#comments666a727f-f9da-453b-ab4e-bbb6e9439586Tue, 07 Mar 2023 03:53:00 +00002023-03-07T03:53:00.000ZPRAMEELA K/api/author/1847182Self help group,Mission ShaktiOdisha ElectionsBHUBANESWAR: The state government has set a target to provide business worth Rs 10,000 crore to self help groups (SHGs) and set up 500 Mission Shakti bazaars across the state in the next five years.

Announcing this at a media conference here on Monday, Minister of State for Mission Shakti, Basanti Hembram and secretary of the department Sujata Kartikeyan said that Mission Shakti has transformed the lives of more than 70 lakh women by organising them into more than six lakh SHGs and empowering them through income-generating activities. 

Stating that government has approved establishment of industrial parks for SHG entrepreneurs in each district, Kartikeyan said Rs 150 crore has been provided in the 2023-24 budget for the same. She said that to transform SHGs to small and medium-scale entrepreneurs, training programmes in key areas such as agricultural processing, beauty, digital and business management, fashion designing and cafe and food businesses are being conducted at block levels with a budgetary provision of Rs 70 crore.

Besides, revolving funds of Rs 1 crore and Rs 50 lakh each has been provided for 30 district-level federations (DLFs) and 338 block-level federation of Mission Shakti. She said financial support has been provisioned for meeting fees and and fixed travelling allowances for the executive committee (EC) members of the gram panchayat level federations (GPLFs) and BLFs. A budgetary provision of Rs 266.57 crore has been made for all these facilities, she said.

Construction of Mission Shakti house in each gram panchayats and wards, Mission Shakti bhawans at blocks and districts across the state has been taken up to facilitate regular meetings and trainings of SHGs, she added.

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Polls to Patkura assembly seat on May 19: EChttps://www.newindianexpress.com/elections/odisha-elections/2019/Apr/24/polls-to-patkura-assembly-seat-on-may-19-ec-1968429.htmlhttps://www.newindianexpress.com/elections/odisha-elections/2019/Apr/24/polls-to-patkura-assembly-seat-on-may-19-ec-1968429.html#commentsf8258dca-45ae-46b2-9955-f796bb69d489Wed, 24 Apr 2019 10:09:00 +00002019-04-24T10:09:00.000ZPRAMEELA K/api/author/1847182Lok Sabha elections 2019,Odisha Assembly elections 2019,Patkura assembly seatOdisha ElectionsBHUBANESWAR: Election for Patkura assembly constituency in Odisha's Kendrapada district will be held on May 19, the Election Commission of India announced on Wednesday.

The poll which was scheduled simultaneously with the third phase of Lok Sabha elections on April 29 has been postponed following the death of BJD nominee Bed Prakash Agarwalla on April 20.

As per the notification issued by the ECI, the process for the filling of nomination papers that began on Wednesday will continue till May 1.

Only the candidate nominated by the BJD is allowed to file nomination papers as the candidatures of other candidates including BJP nominee Bijoy Mohapatra and Congress candidate Jayanta Kumar Mohanty are valid.

FOLLOW OUR ELECTIONS COVERAGE HERE

While scrutiny of the nomination papers will be done on May 2, the last date for withdrawal of nomination is May 4.

Polling will take place on May 19.

Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Surendra Kumar said no new candidate can file nomination papers as election to the seat was adjourned and not countermanded.

“As per ECI norms, the election is adjourned in the event of the death of a candidate from a recognised political party between the period of the announcement of the final list of candidates and voting. The same party is allowed to field another candidate for the poll as per the schedule,” he clarified.

The returning officer for Patkura assembly segment Sanjay Kumar Mishra had adjourned the poll after the death of Agarwalla while the latter was undergoing treatment at a private hospital. The 80-year-old BJD veteran was the sitting MLA from Patkura which falls under Kendrapara Lok Sabha constituency.

Apart from Mohapatra and Mohanty, seven others are in the fray from Patkura. 

Elections to Patkura seat is crucial as it will play a key role in the winning prospects of nominees for Kendrapara Lok Sabha constituency where BJP’s Baijayant Panda is pitted against BJD’s Anubhav Mohanty.

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Odisha Congress president Niranjan Patnaik to contest from Bhandaripokhari seat alsohttps://www.newindianexpress.com/elections/odisha-elections/2019/Apr/07/odisha-congress-president-niranjan-patnaik-to-contest-from-bhandaripokhari-seat-also-1961381.htmlhttps://www.newindianexpress.com/elections/odisha-elections/2019/Apr/07/odisha-congress-president-niranjan-patnaik-to-contest-from-bhandaripokhari-seat-also-1961381.html#comments63c58f31-37a8-455f-ac0a-9b7ff1435d84Sun, 07 Apr 2019 10:37:00 +00002019-04-07T10:37:00.000ZPRAMEELA K/api/author/1847182Niranjan Patnaik,OPCC president,Odisha Assembly elections 2019,Bhadaripokhari seat,Ghasipura seatOdisha ElectionsBHUBANESWAR: Congress has decided to field president of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Niranjan Patnaik from the Bhadaripokhari seat. This will be the second seat from where Patnaik will contest in the assembly elections apart from Ghasipura seat in Keonjhar district.

The party announced Debi Prasad Mallick as candidate from the Tirtol assembly seat after its candidate Bibhu Prasad Tarai defected to BJP. Old warhorse Sitakant Mohapatra has been fielded from the Badachana constituency while Nalini Kanta Mohanty will be the party’s candidate from Bhadrak seat.

ALSO READ: Congress releases manifesto for Odisha, promises loan waiver

The Congress which announced candidates for nine assembly seats, has decided to field Kisan Panda from Dharmasala, Rabindranath Kar from Salepur, Bibhranshu Sekhar Lenka from Mahakalapada, former MLA Lalatendu Mohapatra from Balikuda-Ersama and Satyabrata Patra from Nimapara.

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BJP promises 'New Odisha', capital punishment to sexual offenders in its manifestohttps://www.newindianexpress.com/elections/odisha-elections/2019/Apr/07/bjp-promises-new-odisha-capital-punishment-to-sexual-offenders-in-its-manifesto-1961369.htmlhttps://www.newindianexpress.com/elections/odisha-elections/2019/Apr/07/bjp-promises-new-odisha-capital-punishment-to-sexual-offenders-in-its-manifesto-1961369.html#comments576a1937-8281-40ab-8df8-2ec6a8ae006fSun, 07 Apr 2019 09:22:00 +00002019-04-07T10:30:00.000ZPRAMEELA K/api/author/1847182BJP manifesto,Lok sabha polls 2019,Lok Sabha elections 2019,General Elections 2019,India Elections 2019,New Odisha Sankalpa PatraOdisha ElectionsBHUBANESWAR: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday sought to end the 19 years of "misrule" of BJD government by promising employment to one person of a family, interest free farm loan to small and marginal farmers, capital punishment to offenders of sexual crime on minor girl child and slew of other sops to realise its vision of "New Odisha."

Releasing the New Odisha Sankalpa Patra, the party's manifesto for the state four days ahead of the first phase election, BJP national president Amit Shah said Odisha is one of the worst performing states in the country due to all-round failures of BJD government.

"I have come here to appeal the people of the state to elect a government which does not clash with the Centre and stonewall the process of development. The people have lost hope on BJD government which has failed to deliver in the last 19 years. Give BJP a chance and I assure you we will bring a rapid transformation of the state," Shah said.

CLICK HERE FOR OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE 

With the farmers issue taking centre stage of 2019 election and the state government not cooperating the centre for the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Kishan Saman Nidhi Yojana (PM-Kisan), the BJP promised to implement the farmers income augmentation scheme if voted to power.

The BJP which crowdsourced inputs for its manifesto said that the party will provide irrigation to all agricultural land in five years time with a dedicated fund of Rs 1 lakh crore. It promised to extend the Pradhan Mantri Shram Mandhan Yojana to the farm sector by covering all agricultural workers under the pension scheme after they tuned 60 years of age.

Coming down heavily on the BJD government for the increasing atrocities on women especially sexual attack on minor girls, the saffron party promised to implement the central law which will provide capital punishment to offenders of sexual assault on girls below 15 years of age.

ALSO READ: Congress releases manifesto for Odisha, promises loan waiver

As the Narendra Modi government is under fire from the opposition for its failure to keep promise of providing 2 crore job to unemployed youth per annum, the BJP manifesto said it will provide job to one person of a family.

"The BJP will fill up all the existing vacancies in the state government within two of coming to power," said Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

On creation of self-employment opportunity, the BJP manifesto said it will create a "Skill Odisha Fund" with a corpus of Rs 3,500 crore which will be utilised in skill development programmes for 20 lakh youths in five years.

This apart, a revolving fund of Rs 3000 crore will be set up for extending loan upto Rs 3 lakh per head with nominal interest of Rs one percent.

The election manifesto committee headed by senior BJP leader Biswa Bhusan Harichandan said the party will urge the people to elect a government which understated their language and free from bureaucratic control.

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Kharbela Swain returns to BJP, to contest from Kandhamal Lok Sabha seathttps://www.newindianexpress.com/elections/odisha-elections/2019/Mar/25/kharbela-swain-returns-to-bjp-to-contest-from-kandhamal-lok-sabha-seat-1955647.htmlhttps://www.newindianexpress.com/elections/odisha-elections/2019/Mar/25/kharbela-swain-returns-to-bjp-to-contest-from-kandhamal-lok-sabha-seat-1955647.html#comments627c5abc-9d30-4073-a547-299a4b41e0bfMon, 25 Mar 2019 10:33:00 +00002019-03-25T10:33:00.000ZPRAMEELA K/api/author/1847182Kharbela Swain,Kharbela Swain joins BJP,Kandhamal parliamnentary seatOdisha ElectionsBHUBANESWAR: After an agonising wait, Utkal Bharat president and former MP Kharbela Swain returned to the BJP on Monday with his formal induction into saffron party and nomination from communally sensitive Kandhamal parliamentary seat.

"Inspired by strong and dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who successfully projected India as a world power and his fight against corruption from the top I offered my service to BJP. I thanked the BJP leadership and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan for giving me this opportunity," Swain said after joining the BJP at simple function here.

Appreciating the belated fight of the BJP to dethrone an inefficient and corrupt BJD government, Swain, a bitter critic of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, said he joined the BJP to end the 19 years of misrule of the regional party.

FOLLOW OUR ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

A three-time BJP MP from Balasore from 1998, Swain severed ties with the saffron party a decade ago in December 2009 following difference with party's state leadership. He floated a new political party Utkal Bharat in February 2010 to take on the ruling BJD and opposition Congress.

Dubbing Swain's return to the BJP as 'home coming', Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said party workers never considered the former as leader of another party. Everyone in the party is happy with his return to the BJP, he added.

While the BJD has fielded education entrepreneur Achyuta Samant, the Congress has nominated Manoj Kumar Acharya for the Kandhamal seat.

Apart from Kandhamal, the BJP has named former Odisha DGP Prakash Mishra for Cuttack Lok Sabha seat and candidates for ten Assembly seats in the state today. Mishra joined the BJP on Sunday. Mishra was also DG of CRPF.

In a surprise move, the central election committee of the BJP has cleared the name of state BJP vice president Pitambar Acharya for Hinjili Assembly seat which is represented by the Chief Minister from 2000 onwards.

Among the Assembly seats declared on Monday is Rishabh Nanda, son of BJD's Rajya Sabha member Prashant Nanda who will fight from the Begunia assembly segment on a BJP ticket. Rishabh too has recently joined the party.

Others candidates include Dinesh Jain from Jharsuguda, Debendra Mahapatro from Rairakhol, Badrinarayan Dhal from Bhandaripokhari, Pradip Nayak from Bhadrak, Debanarayan Pradhan from Phulbani, Samapad Swain from Paradeep, Narendra Nayak from Jayadev and Biswaranjan Jena from Jatani.

BJP has, so far, declared candidates for 17 Lok Sabha seats and 131 Assembly segments. The state which will go for simultaneous polls for Assembly and Lok Sabha which have 147 seats and 21 seats respectively.

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BJD will win in all 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha: Naveen Patnaikhttps://www.newindianexpress.com/elections/odisha-elections/2019/Mar/24/bjd-will-win-in-all-21-lok-sabha-seats-in-odisha-naveen-patnaik-1955206.htmlhttps://www.newindianexpress.com/elections/odisha-elections/2019/Mar/24/bjd-will-win-in-all-21-lok-sabha-seats-in-odisha-naveen-patnaik-1955206.html#commentsbfdb405b-09a4-4de8-8b2c-ed1c8b7f4831Sun, 24 Mar 2019 10:11:00 +00002019-03-24T10:59:00.000ZPRAMEELA K/api/author/1847182Naveen Patnaik,BJD,Lok sabha polls 2019,BJD Campaign,Lok Sabha elections 2019,Odisha elections 2019Odisha ElectionsNAYAGARH: Stating that no national party will get a clear majority in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday claimed that BJD will play a key role in government formation at the Centre.

Launching the election campaign for the party, the Chief Minister asserted that BJD will win all the 21 Lok Sabha seats from Odisha in the coming elections. “This time Conch (BJD’s election symbol) will win all the 21 out of 21 seats,” Naveen said and called upon people to vote for party candidates in the ensuing elections to redress the neglect of Odisha by the Centre.

Targeting the saffron party for not fulfilling election promises, the Chief Minister said according to special category state status to Odisha was number one point in the election manifesto of BJP for the 2014 polls. “However, BJP forgot about the promise after coming to power,” Naveen said and added that employment opportunities for youths will double if Odisha is given special category state status.

FOLLOW OUR ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

The state has received investment proposals worth rupees five lakh crore which will create employment opportunities for 30 lakh youths, the Chief Minister said and added all these will double if Odisha gets special category state status. Alleging that injustice has been done to Odisha and its youth, Naveen said the state has the poorest railway network in the country, but Centre gets the highest profit from here in the sector.

The Chief Minister said Railway gets Rs 20,000 crore from Odisha every year, but spends only Rs 1000 crore for the State and the rest is utilised for other states. Asking the people whether this is not central neglect, Naveen said Centre has collected thousands of crores from Odisha from coal sector, but the state has got only pollution.

Criticising the BJP for supporting the Chhattisgarh government in the Mahanadi river water dispute, the Chief Minister said Odisha got justice from the Supreme Court. Similarly, the BJP led Central government supported Andhra Pradesh on the Pollavaram dam issue, he said and added that Odisha is at the bottom in all Central government infrastructure programmes including telecom, banking and National Highways.

Stating that BJP leaders from Odisha know this, the Chief Minister said they are afraid raising these issues before their High Command which is controlling them from New Delhi. Stating that BJD is party of people of Odisha who are its High Command, Naveen said that the remote control of BJD is with 4.5 crore people of Odisha.

The Chief Minister said BJD is the only party which has implemented 33 reservation of seats for women in the Lok Sabha polls. Referring to the candidature of Pramila Bisoi from the Aska Lok Sabha constituency, Naveen said the BJD is always working for empowering women. Besides, he also referred to the KALIA scheme under which 35 lakh farmers have already received assistance. Another 20 lakh farmers’ family have been listed and they will also assistance under the scheme, he said.

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'Party of women empowerment failed me': Kandhamal MP Pratyusha Rajeswari Singh quits over denial of tickethttps://www.newindianexpress.com/elections/odisha-elections/2019/Mar/20/party-of-women-empowerment-failed-me-kandhamal-mp-pratyusha-rajeswari-singh-quits-over-denial-of-tic-1953635.htmlhttps://www.newindianexpress.com/elections/odisha-elections/2019/Mar/20/party-of-women-empowerment-failed-me-kandhamal-mp-pratyusha-rajeswari-singh-quits-over-denial-of-tic-1953635.html#commentsf3f81265-652b-4915-92ec-893aa849aae4Wed, 20 Mar 2019 10:47:00 +00002019-03-20T10:51:00.000ZPRAMEELA K/api/author/1847182BJD,Odisha elections 2019,Kandhamal MP,Pratyusha Rajeswari Singh,party ticket denialOdisha ElectionsBHUBANESWAR: Desertion from the ruling BJD continues with Kandhamal MP Pratyusha Rajeswari Singh and Daspalla MLA Purna Chandra Nayak resigning from the regional party after being denied party tickets for the ensuing polls.

In her resignation letter to Chief Minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik, the sitting MP said, "A party that has been so vocal about women empowerment has failed me miserably. My hard work and dedication have been rendered futile."

She said she was not informed about her fate prior to the announcement of the final list of candidates, rather she was asked to prepare. She felt that she has been wronged despite her loyalty and dedication to the party and the people she represented.

READ: Resentment brews in BJD, Congress over candidate list

Surprised at the party's decision, Singh said, "After declaring 33 per cent reservation for women, the reward for me being the first women contestant in Kandhamal and winning from around three lakh votes difference I was denied a ticket."

Expressing her reservation to the interference of Parliamentary Affairs Minister Bikram Arukh, Singh said she been harassed by party leaders after the demise of her husband. She also accused former Minister and Nayagarh MLA Arun Sahu of harassing her with legal cases multiple times in the last four years.

Earlier, she had announced to contest from the parliamentary seat as an independent if the party denied her a ticket. Sources said she may join Congress. 

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