BHUBANESWAR: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) sprung yet another surprise by dropping five sitting MLAs as the party on Saturday announced its sixth list of candidates for nine Assembly segments in Odisha.
BJD supremo and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik declared the names of candidates for Chilika in Khurda district, Barachana in Jajpur district, Anandpur and Champua in Keonjhar district, Saraskana and Karanjia in Mayurbhanj district, Remuna and Simulia in Balasore district, besides Kendrapara.
Popular Odia actor Varsha Priyadarshini will contest from the Barchana constituency. She replaced five-time MLA Amar Prasad Satpathy.
Varsha was announced as a party candidate two days after she joined BJD and almost three weeks after her former husband and Kendrapara MP Anubhav Mohanty quit BJD and joined the BJP.
Except in Karanjia, where the party has renominated sitting MLA and Minister for Women and Child Development Basanti Hembram, candidates for eight seats in the sixth list have been changed.
Among those replaced with new faces include two former ministers.
BJD has gone with former minister Ganeswar Behera, who recently bid adieu to Congress and joined BJD despite huge resentment among party cadres. He has been fielded from Kendrapara by replacing former Finance Minister and sitting MLA Sashibhushan Behera.
In the prestigious seat of Chilika, the party has reposed faith in Raghunath Sahu, who had won in 2009. Prasanta Jagadev had replaced him in 2019 after Sahu lost to BJP candidate Bibhuti Bhusan Harichandan in 2014.
Though it was anticipated that former MP Prasanna Patasani may be the next choice, Sahu managed to secure his renomination following speculations that Patasani may join the saffron camp.
Former MLA Sanatan Mahakud, often revered as a king-maker in the mineral-rich Keonjhar district, will contest from Champua. He was earlier elected as an independent candidate for the seat. In 2019, BJD candidate Minakshi Mahanta had won the seat with his support.
The party has fielded Abhimanyu Sethi in Anandpur by replacing sitting MLA Bhagirathi Sethi. Abhimanyu is the husband of Hatadihi block chairperson Sabitri Sethi.
Chairman of the Special Development Council, Mayurbhanj, Dr Debasish Marandi, has been nominated for the Saraskana constituency. He had unsuccessfully contested the Mayurbhanj Lok Sabha seat in 2019 and lost to the BJP's Bishweswar Tudu.
Two other surprise candidates the party announced are Bidyasmita Mahalik from Remuna and Subhasini Sahoo from Simulia.
Mahalik is the Sarpanch of the Patripal panchayat under Remuna block, while Subhasini is the wife of Shashi Kumar Sahoo, who unsuccessfully contested the seat on the BJD ticket in 2019 and the BJP ticket in 2014.
Mahalik has been nominated in place of sitting MLA Sudhanshu Parida, who was expelled for his alleged anti-people activities.
Sahoo replaced two-time MLA and former Tourism and Culture Minister Jyoti Prakash Panigrahi.
The changes were effected as the top brass of the party was concerned about its chances in several Assembly seats in coastal Odisha, as internal surveys had shown that the performance of several sitting BJD MLAs was not up to the mark.
A senior BJD leader explained that the change in candidates where it needed the most will give the party a first-mover advantage.
“Unlike previous elections, a new strategy has been put to use this time and which is why some names left many surprised. Hopefully, this will help subside discontentment against the sitting MLAs. Voters will also be able to see the commitment of our new set of leaders with renewed enthusiasm,” said the senior leader.
The BJD’s sixth list for Assembly elections includes four women, two from the Scheduled Tribes category and two from the Scheduled Castes category. Of the 147 Assembly seats, the party has so far fielded candidates in 135 segments.