BHUBANESWAR: Adopting a cautious strategy of drop and repeat, the BJD on Wednesday announced candidates for five more Lok Sabha and 27 Assembly constituencies.
Nine sitting MLAs were dropped from the party’s second list which was declared by Chief Minister and BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik, while eight legislators have been renominated from their present constituencies.
Manjulata Mandal who represented Bhadrak Lok Sabha seat is the only sitting MP to be renominated while the party fielded BJP leader Bhrugu Buxipatra from Berhampur parliamentary constituency hours after he resigned from the saffron party and joined the regional outfit. Outgoing MP and former union minister Chandra Sekhar Sahu was dropped.
The change in Berhampur Lok Sabha candidate was under consideration of BJD leadership since Pradeep Panigrahy was pitched by BJP from the constituency. Buxipatra’s resignation had indicated his switching the camp to the ruling party. Appointment of Sahu as chairman of the manifesto committee as well as vice-president of the party soon after Buxipatra’s resignation from BJP only confirmed the speculations.
The BJD fielded former minister Surendra Singh Bhoi, who resigned from Congress and joined the regional outfit last week, from Balangir parliamentary constituency. Former Balangir MP Kalikesh Singhdeo who unsuccessfully contested from the seat in 2019 has already been fielded from Balangir Assembly segment.
The regional outfit fielded Parineeta Mishra from Bargarh Lok Sabha seat. Parineeta is wife of Susanta Mishra, vice-president of Bargarh district BJP Sukanta Mishra who recently resigned from the saffron party. Sources said Parineeta, a homemaker, has the support of Susanta Singh, sitting BJD MLA from Bhatli and a heavyweight from the region. The party dropped another sitting MP Chandrani Murmu from Keonjhar and fielded former BJP leader Dhanurjoy Sidhu from the constituency.
A former Congress MLA from Champua, Sidhu had joined BJP after resigning from Congress. He joined BJD subsequently.
The party’s decision to drop nine sitting MLAs in the second list of 27 candidates triggered a mini resignation spree. Parshuram Dhada, sitting MLA from Soro, exited the party in protest and announced his decision to contest as an Independent after he was replaced by Madhab Dhada. Former MLA Debendra Kanhar also resigned as the party put its faith on zilla parishad member Jayshree Kanhar for Phulbani seat after dropping sitting legislator Angad Kanhar.
Similarly, sitting MLA from Tirtol Bijay Shankar Das, who courted controversy over his relationship status, was dropped. He was replaced by Ramakant Bhoi, a new face.
The party fielded Ankit Pratap Jena, son of former minister Pratap Jena from Mahanga Assembly seat. Jena senior has been in headlines over his alleged complicity in a double-murder case.
At Moroda Assembly segment, BJD replaced sitting MLA Raj Kishore Das by fielding his wife Preetinanda Kanungo. While senior leader Ramesh Chandra Chyau Patnaik was named from Berhampur Assembly seat, sitting MLA from Berhampur Bikram Panda had been shifted to Gopalpur in the first list released by the chief minister.
Former Works secretary Nalini Kanta Pradhan, the ruling party’s Lok Sabha candidate from Sambalpur in 2019, was moved to Athamallick where the sitting MLA Ram Chandra Sai was dropped.
Several sitting MLAs including senior minister Ashok Panda, government chief whip Prasant Muduli and former minister Padmanabha Behera have been re-nominated from Ekamra-Bhubaneswar, Jagatsinghpur and Birmaharajpur seats respectively.
The party has, however, held back announcement of candidates from several key Assembly seats including Bhubaneswar-Central, Rairakhol, Paradip, Balikuda-Erasama and Sambalpur.
