BHUBANESWAR: In a bid to beat anti-incumbency, Biju Janata Dal president and four-time Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday dropped as many as seven sitting Members of Parliament out of nine candidates announced for the third and fourth phases of Lok Sabha elections. Earlier, while announcing candidates for nine Lok Sabha and 63 Assembly seats, the BJD chief had denied tickets to six sitting MPs and 15 MLAs.
While denying ticket to five-time MP Prasanna Patsani, Naveen has nominated retired IPS officer and former Police Commissioner of Mumbai Arup Patnaik for Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha seat. The top cop will face bureaucrat- turned politician and BJP nominee Aparajita Sarangi in his maiden poll battle. The Chief Minister, however, announced to send Patsani to Rajya Sabha.
Popular cine star and Rajya Sabha member Anubhav Mohanty will take on former MP and BJP candidate Baijayant Panda in Kendrapara Lok Sabha seat while former Works Secretary Nalinikanta Pradhan will contest from Sambalpur.
The sitting MP from Sambalpur Nagendra Pradhan has been denied renomination. Inching closure to his promise to improve women’s representation in the Assembly to 33 per cent, the Chief Minister announced nomination of three more women candidates from Bhadrak, Jajpur and Jagatsinghpur constituencies.
While sitting MLA from Tirtol Rajashree Mallick is the candidate for Jagatsinghpur Lok Sabha seat, Sarmistha Sethi, a former officer of Odisha Administrative Service, is given party ticket for Jajpur constituency in place of sitting MP Rita Tarai. Manjulata Mandal, wife of Dhamnagar MLA Muktikanta Mandal, has been fielded from Bhadrak Lok Sabha seat.
The party has nominated Debasish Marandi for Mayurbahnj Lok Sabha seat, which is represented by Ramchandra Hansda. Embroiled in chit fund scam, Hansda has been suspended from the BJD following his arrest by the CBI for his alleged involvement in ponzi scam. The two MPs who have been renominated are Rabindra Jena from Balasore and Pinaki Mishra from Puri Lok Sabha seats.
Of the nine Lok Sabha candidates announced in the first list, three were women nominees, including Pramila Bisoi for Aska, Sunita Biswal, the daughter of former chief minister and Congress veteran Hemananda Biswal, for Sundargarh and Koraput MP Jhina Hikaka’s wife Kaushalya Hikaka in place of her husband. The BJD also announced candidates for 36 Assembly seats.