Bhubaneswar: The Congress has released the first list of its party candidates for the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in Odisha. The party on Monday night released the list of candidates for six of 21 Lok Sabha, and 36 of 147 Assembly seats in the state.

Senior Congress leader Bhakta Charan Das will contest from Kalahandi Lok Sabha constituency while Pradeep Majhi will fight from Nabarangpur seat. Pradeep Kumar Devta will be Congress candidate from Bargarh, and George Tirkey from Sundargarh.

The party has fielded Manoj Kumar Acharya from Kandhamal Lok Sabha seat while V. Chandrasekhar Naidu will contest from Berhampur parliamentary constituency.

Among the candidates announced for 36 Assembly seats, Leader of Opposition Narasingh Mishra will contest from Bolangir seat while Congress chief whip Taraprasad Bahinipati will contest from Jeypore constituency.
Congress has fielded Ram Krishna Panda from Hinjili constituency in Ganjam district, which has been represented four times by Biju Janata Dal (BJD) President and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

This time, Patnaik will be contesting from two Assembly constituencies -- Hinjili and Bijepur. He will contest from Bijepur in western Odisha to give a check to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress which are gaining grounds in the region.

The elections for 147 Assembly seats in Odisha will be held in four phases starting from April 11 to April 29.