BHUBANESWAR: Ending speculations over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s candidature from the prestigious Puri Lok Sabha seat, the Central Election Committee of the BJP has named party spokesperson Sambit Patra for the parliamentary constituency.
The nomination of Patra, as reported by this paper, has sealed the fate of any alliance with Odisha Democratic Front, a newly floated political alternative to end the 19 years’ ‘misrule’ of the ruling BJD.
As expected, State BJP president and Nuapada MLA Basanta Kumar Panda has been fielded from Kalahandi Lok Sabha seat.
However, the nomination of party’s national secretary Suresh Pujari from Bargarh parliamentary constituency in place of Subas Chouhan and sitting MLA from Deogarh Nitesh Ganga Deb from Sambalpur Lok Sabh seat has baffled many in the political circles.
Nomination of candidates for 10 Lok Sabha seats announced in the first list was on the expected lines. While Union Minister Jual Oram has been renominated from Sundargarh, Ananat Naik, Pratap Sarangi and Rudranarayan Pani have been repeated for Keonjhar, Balasore and Dhenkanal parliamentary constituencies.
Bureaucrat turned politician Aparajita Sarangi has been fielded from Bhubaneswar, while former MP Baijayant Panda has retained the Kendrapara seat after he joined the saffron party. Panda was elected from Kendrapara on BJD ticket in 2014.
The BJP has decided to field Anita Priyadarshini, daughter of former minister Ramakrushna Patnaik, for Aska Lok Sabha seat while Bhrugu Baxipatra has been chosen for Berhampur.
An interesting political fight in Ersama-Balikuda Assembly seat under Jagatsinghpur parliamentary constituency is on the cards with the BJP nominating former minister and expelled BJD leader Damodar Rout, the sitting MLA from Paradip.
Two sitting MLAs of the saffron party have been denied ticket.State BJP general secretary Pruthviraj Harichandan, son of party veteran Biswa Bhusan Harichandan, has been given ticket for Chilika replacing his uncle and sitting MLA Bibhuti Harichandan.
Similarly, sitting MLA from Khariar Duryodhan Majhi has been replaced by a green horn Rita Rani Bagarti leading to the former quitting the saffron party.
Majhi returned to BJD which he left before 2014 election in a similar situation.The party once again ignored former MLA Ramaranjan Baliarsingh by nominating Om Prakash Mishra for Satyabadi Assembly seat.
Two sitting MLAs, Debraj Mohanty and Purna Chandra Nayak, who had resigned from the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on March 20 following denial of tickets, have been nominated for Aska Assembly segment in Ganjam district and Daspalla in Nayagarh district respectively.
The new BJP list also includes a woman candidate, Pinky Pradhan, who happens to be an actress. She will be contesting from Digapahandi Assembly seat.The BJP has so far named candidates for 15 Lok Sabha and 121 Assembly seats.