BJD’S FIRST LIST OF CANDIDATES OUT: 3 Women in 9 MP candidates, 10 women in 54 MLA candidates list

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik Monday announced that he would contest from Western Odisha along with his home constituency Hinjili in Ganjam. Naveen has selected Bijepur assembly constituency under Bargarh Lok Sabha seats.

Naveen has created a history of shorts by contesting simultaneously from coastal Odisha and western Odisha. Never in the electoral history of Odisha a chief minister has contested from constituencies located in both coastal and western Odisha in one elections. Naveen’s father Biju Patnaik had contested five assembly seats in one go and lost in all of them. Former chief minister JB Patnaik had also contested from Begunia as well as Athagarh assembly constituencies simultaneously once.

If Naveen wins from Bijepur and become chief minister, he would be the third chief minister from western Odisha. Rajendra Narayan Singhdeo and Biswanath Das were two chief ministers from western Odisha.

Announcing the party’s candidates for nine Lok Sabha seats, Patnaik has changed the candidates for the 8 Lok Sabha constituencies while repeating the sitting MP in one. The constituencies for which candidates were announced today are Berhampur, Kandhmal, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Kalahandi, Bargarh, Sundergarh, Aska, and Bolangir Lok Sabha seats. While former Congress central minister Chandra Sekhar Sahu is the candidate for Berhampur, Rajya Sabha member Achyut Samant is the candidate for Kandhmal. Former minister Ramesh Majhi and Pushpendra Singh Deo are candidates for Nabarangpur and Kalahandi. Rajya Sabha member Prasanna Acharya is the candidate for Bargarh, while Sunita Biswal, daughter of former Congress chief minister Hemananda Biswal,is the candiate for Sundergarh Lok Sabha seat. BJD sitting MP Kalikesh Singdeo and Pramila Bisoi have been nominated for Bolangir and Aska constituencies.

The Names of candidates for the 54 Assembly Constituencies

  1. Naveen Patnaik (Hinjli)
  2. Naveen Patnaik (Bijepur)
  3. Jagannath Saraka (Bissam Cuttack)
  4. Lal Bihari Himirika (Rayagada)
  5. Rabi Narayan Nanda (Jeypore)
  6. Snehangini Chhuria (Atabira)
  7. Bikram Kumar Panda (Berhampur)
  8. Raghunath Gomango (Gunupur)
  9. Usha Devi (Chikiti)
  10. Dr Pradeep Panigrahi (Gopalpur)
  11. Surya Narayan Patro (Digapahandi)
  12. Prabhu Jani (Lakshmipur)
  13. Subash Chandra Behera (Chhatrapur)
  14. Sushanta Singh (Bhatli)
  15. Naba Kishore Das (Jharsuguda)
  16. Purna Chandra Swain (Surada)
  17. Bikram Keshari Arukha (Bhanjanagar)
  18. Manjula Swain (Aska)
  19. Pradeep Amat (Boudh)
  20. Ramesh Behera (Daspalla)
  21. Niranjan Pujari (Sonepur)
  22. Kalyani Gajapati (Paralakhemundi)
  23. Ajay Das (Kantabanjhi)
  24. Padmanabha Behera (Biramaharajpur)
  25. Latika Pradhan (Kabisuryanagar)
  26. Srikant Sahu (Polsara)
  27. Nandini Devi (Sanakhemundi)
  28. KK Suryamani Baidya (Khallikote)
  29. Mahidhar Rana (Kantamal)
  30. Tukuni Sahu (Titilagarh)
  31. Chakradhar Kanhar (Baliguda)
  32. Bijaya Ranjan Singh Bariha (Padampur)
  33. Subash Gond (Umerkote)
  34. Manohar Randhari (Dabugaon)
  35. Lambodhar Nial (Khariar)
  36. Padmini Dian (Kotpad)
  37. Purnabasi Nayak (Mohana)
  38. Dushmanta Nayak (Bhawanipatna)
  39. Saroj Meher (Patnagarh)
  40. Debesh Acharya (Bargarh)
  41. Raghuram Padal (Koraput)
  42. Sadashiva Pradhani (Nabarangpur)
  43.  Purna Chandra Baka(Chitrakonda)
  44. Mausudi Bag (Dharmagarh)
  45. Bhupindar Singh (Narla)
  46. Capt Dibya Shankar Mishra (Junagarh)
  47. Rajendra Dholakia (Nuapada)
  48. Saluga Pradhan (G. Udaygiri)
  49. Jogesh Singh (Sundergarh)
  50. Mangala Kishan (Rajgangpur)
  51. Stephen Soren (Talsara)
  52. Sarada Prasad Nayak (Rourkela)
  53. Subrat Tarai (Raghunathpalli) 
  54. Ranjit Kisan (Bonai)