BJP names candidates for Odisha's 2 Lok Sabha, 9 Assembly seats

The BJP on Monday announced the names of candidates for two Lok Sabha seats and 19 Assembly constituencies in Odisha, which is set to go for simultaneous polling in four phases between April 11 and 29.

Bharatiya Janta Party (Source: PTI)

BHUBANESWAR: The BJP on Monday released its list of candidates for two Lok Sabha and nine Assembly seats in Odisha.  The state is set to go for simultaneous polling in four phases between April 11 and 29. Kharavela Swain, who rejoined the party on Monday, will contest from the Kandhamal Lok Sabha seat, while Prakash Mishra will fight from the Cuttack parliamentary constituency. Swain, president of the Utkal Bharat, formally joined the BJP here on Monday. Swain was elected to the Lok Sabha thrice as a BJP member. According to sources in the BJP, Swain was keen on contesting the general election from Balasore seat, but the party has already fielded Pratap Sarangi from the coastal constituency. "Inspired by the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, I rejoined the BJP to dethrone the corrupt and inefficient BJD government in Odisha. I will contest from Kandhamal Lok Sabha seat," said Swain. Former Odisha DGP and former CRPF DGP, Prakash Mishra, had joined the BJP on Sunday. Mishra had served as the Director General of Police of Odisha from 2012 to 2014. He was also the Director General of CRPF for around two years between 2014 and 2016. A source in the BJP said Mishra always maintained a "good relationship" with senior leaders in Delhi. Among the nine Assembly seats declared on Monday, Rishabh Nanda, son of BJD's Rajya Sabha member Prashant Nanda, will fight from the Begunia assembly segment on a BJP ticket. Rishabh has recently joined the BJP. The saffron party has, so far, declared candidates for 17 Lok Sabha seats and 130 Assembly segments. Odisha, which will have Lok Sabha and Assembly polls simultaneously in four phases, has 21 seats and 147 seats, respectively, in both these Houses.