Odisha: BJD releases 3rd list of candidates for Assembly elections

Bhubaneswar, April 5 (IANS): The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has launched its third listing of candidates for the upcoming Meeting polls within the state.

BJD president and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday declared the names of candidates for 9 extra Meeting constituencies of the state.

The BJD has to this point introduced candidates for 108 Vidhan Sabha and 20 Lok Sabha constituencies out of the 147 Meeting and 21 Parliamentary constituencies. The occasion has nominated ex-BJP chief and former Salipur MLA, Prakash Behera for Barabati-Cuttack seat. Behera on Wednesday joined BJD after quitting BJP.

Behera had been elected to the state Meeting from Salipur constituency on a Congress ticket in 2014.

He later joined the Bharatiya Janata Social gathering and contested the 2019 elections on BJP ticket however misplaced to BJD’s Prasant Behera.

In the meantime, the occasion has renominated Prasant Behera, Sarada Prasad Nayak and Swarup Kumar Das from Salipur, Rourkela and Balasore Vidhan Sabha constituencies this time.

Famous tribal chief and former Sundargarh MLA George Tirkey’s son Rohit Joseph Tirkey has been fielded from the Biramitrapur Meeting seat.

Tirkey had fought elections from the Biramitrapur seat on a Congress ticket in 2019. The occasion had nominated Sudarshan Haripal from Rengali in Sambalpur district.

The BJD nominated Meena Majhi from the Keonjhar Vidhan sabha constituency.

Former cop Raisen Murmu who joined BJD in November 2023 has been fielded from Rairangpur constituency within the Mayurbhanj district.

Naba Kishore Mallick has been named as a candidate from the Jayadev Meeting phase beneath the Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha constituency.

Mallick had contested elections in 2019 from the Jaydev constituency as an Unbiased candidate.