New Delhi: The All India Congress Committee (AICC) on Saturday announced the names of candidates for 16 assembly seats and three parliamentary constituencies in Odisha. Notable selections for state polls include Amita Biswal for Jharsuguda, Siddharth Routray for Nimapara, and Sipra Malliack for Kendrapara. Sonali Sahoo, who recently switched from the BJP to Congress, secures the nomination for the Khurda assembly segment.
In a bid to strengthen its presence across Odisha's assembly segments, the Congress party has made changes in candidates for three constituencies, appointing Sarat Kumar Pradhan, Krushna Sagaria, and Sanjay Kumar Mandal to replace Manoj Kumar Acharya, Jayant Kumar Bhoi, and Bipin Bihari Swain, respectively, reported news agency PTI.
Additionally, the party has announced candidates for several other assembly seats, including Kshirod Chandra Patra for Badasahi, Bibhu Bushan Rout for Sukinda, and Ashok Pratihari for Rajanagar, among others.
Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Congress Fields Dulal Chandra Pradhan To Take On Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan
With earlier declarations covering 17 out of 21 Lok Sabha seats, the party introduced two new names and changed the contender in one constituency. The party announced Dulal Chandra Pradhan as the party's pick for the Sambalpur Lok Sabha seat, where Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan is contesting as the BJP candidate and Pranab Prakash Das is the BJD candidate.
Notably, Debakanta Sharma will contest the Aska Lok Sabha seat, while Binod Bihari Nayak replaces Mohan Hembram in Keonjhar. Alongside Lok Sabha nominees,
With these latest announcements, Congress has finalised candidates for 138 assembly seats out of the total 147 in Odisha, positioning itself competitively against the ruling BJD and BJP, who have nominated aspirants for 135 and 131 seats, respectively.
The assembly election in Odisha will be held from 13 May 2024 to 1 June 2024 elect 21 members.