New Delhi: The ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) announced its first list of candidates of Odisha for the approaching Lok Sabha elections on Wednesday. Chief Minister of Odisha and chief of the BJD Naveen Patnaik posted on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) to disseminate the names of nine Lok Sabha contenders, earmarked for Sambalpur, Kalahandi, Bhubaneswar, Kendrapara, Nabarangpur, Sundargarh, Mayurbhanj, Aska, and Koraput constituencies. The party also released candidate list for the 72 seats of the Odisha assembly. CM Naveen Patnaik is set to seek re-election from the Hinjili Assembly constituency for the sixth consecutive term.
Significant Names In 1st List
BJD General Secretary Pranab Prakash Das is set to face Union Minister and BJP candiate Dharmendra Pradhan from Sambalpur. Shortly after joining BJD, Manmath Routray, the son of Congress veteran leader Suresh Routray, was nominated as the Lok Sabha candidate from Bhubaneswar. Anshuman Mohanty, a former Odisha Congress MLA who joined Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on February 16, will vie for the Kendrapara Lok Sabha seat. Other candidates are as follows:
Pradeep Kumar Majhi – Nabarangpur
Dilip Tirkey – Sundargarh
Lambodhar Nial – Kalahandi
Ranjita Sahu – Aska
Kaushalya Hikaka – Koraput
BJD Assembly Candidate List
Jagannath Saraka – Bissamkatak
Raghunath Gamango – Gunpur
Anusaya Majhi -Rayagada
Debesh Acharya -Bargarh
Rita Sahoo -Bijepur
Snehangini Churia -Atabira
Susanta Singh -Bhatli
Ashiwni Patra -Jaleswar
Subhasini Jena- Basta
Sanjib Mallick-Bhandaripokari
Prafulla Samal -Bhadrak
Bishnubrata Routray -Basudevpur
Sanjay Das -Dhamnagar
Byomkesh Ray-Chandbali
Pramila Malik-Bijharpur
Pranab Balbantra-Dharmasala
Sujata Sahoo-Jajpur
Pritiranjan Ghadei-Sukinda
Sudhir Samal -Dhenkanal
Prafulla Mallick -Kamakshyanagar
Nursingha Sahoo -Parjang
Mukesh Pal-Pallahara
Sushant Kumar Behera-Chendipada
Niranjan Pujari -Sonepur
Nihar Behera -Loisingha
Saroj Meher -Patnagarh
Kalikesh Nayarayan Singh Deo -Bolangir
Tukuni Sahu -Titilagarh
Rajendra Dholakia-Nuapada
Nabina Nayak -Umerkote
Ramesh Majhi-Jharigaon
Kaushalya Pradhani-Nabarangpur
Manohar Randhari-Dabugaon
Pradip Dishari-Lanjigarh
Dibyashankar Mishra-Junagarh
Puspendra Singh Deo-Dharmagarh
Latika Nayak-Bhawanipatna
Saluga Pradhan-G Udaygiri
Mahidhar Rana-Kantamal
Pradip Amat -Boudh
Debi Prasad Mishra-Badamba
Debi Tripathy-Banki
Sauvik Biswal -Cuttack-Choudwar
Ranendra Pratap Swain-Athagarh
Pramod Mallick-Niali
Chandra Sarathi Behera-Cuttack-Sadar
Arvind Mohapatra-Patkura
Pratap Deb-Aul
Dhruba Sahu- Rajnagar
Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak -Mahakalpada
Sunil Mohanty -Puri
Uma Samantaray -Brahmagiri
Sanjay Dasburma-Satyabadi
Rudrapratap Maharathy-Pipili
Bibhuti Balbantray -Jatni
Satyanarayan Pradhan-Ranpur
Ramesh Behera -Daspalla
Arun Sahoo-Nayagarh
Bikram Keshari Arukh-Bhanjanagar
Srikant Sahoo -Polsara
Latika Pradhan-Kabisuryanagar
Subhash Behera-Chhatrapur
Sanghamitra Swain-Sorada
Naveen Patnaik -Hinjili
Bikram Panda-Gopalpur
Biplab Patra -Digapahandi
Chanmanya Nanda-Chikiti
Chandrasekhar Majhi -Kotpad
Raghuram-Koraput
Manas Madkami-Malkangiri
Badrinarayan Patra-Ghasipura
Odisha Lok Sabha, Assembly Polls
The Lok Sabha elections in Odisha, encompassing 21 constituencies, will occur across four phases, scheduled for May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections in Odisha, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) emerged dominant, winning 20 out of 21 seats, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) securing just one.
However, there was a shift in the political landscape during the 2019 elections. The BJD’s seat count decreased to 12, while the BJP made significant progress, claiming 8 seats, indicating a notable surge in the BJP’s influence in the state. Additionally, the Indian National Congress (INC) managed to secure a seat in the 2019 elections.