Odisha Polls: BJP Releases List Of 112 Candidates, Renominates 21 Of 22 Sitting MLAs

The BJP released its list of 112 candidates for the Odisha Legislative Assembly polls renominating 21 of the 22 sitting MLAs.

BJP announces list of candidate for the Odisha Assembly polls

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The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday announced its list of 112 candidates for the upcoming Odisha Assembly polls, renominating 21 out of 22 sitting MLAs. The only legislator who was denied the ticket by the saffron party was Lalitendu Bidyadhar Mohapatra from Brahmagiri in Puri district.

His niece, Upasana Mohapatra has been fielded from the Brahmagiri Assembly seat. 

According to the list, party's state unit president, Manmohan Samal will enter the poll fray from the Chandbali assembly segment in Bhadrak district while senior party leader and sitting MP from Bargarh Suresh Pujari has been pitted from Brajarajnagar Assembly seat. The party had denied a Lok Sabha poll ticket to Pujari this time. 

Leader of Opposition in Odisha Assembly and MLA Jaynarayan Mishra has been renominated from his traditional Sambalpur assembly seat.

BJP releases its list of candidates for the Odisha Assembly elections pic.twitter.com/xFWGlikFpL

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Three turncoats from the Biju Janata Dal — Arabinda Dhali, Akash Das Nayak and Priyadarshi Mishra have been rewarded with a ticket by the party. Dhali will contest the Odisha assembly polls from the Jayadev assembly segment in Khurda district.

Actor-turned-politician Akash Das Nayak has been fielded from Korei Assembly segment in Jajpur district while former BJD MLA Priyadarshi Mishra has been nominated from the Bhubaneswar North seat.

The saffron party's youth leader, Tankadhar Tripathy will contest the Odisha Assembly polls from Jharsuguda while MLA Kusum Tete has will fight the polls from the Sundargarh Assembly seat and Biswaranjan Badajena has been fielded from Jatni.

Jagannath Pradhan will contest the elections from Bhubaneswar Central, Babu Singh from Bhubaneswar Ekamra and Prithiviraj Harichandan from Chilika Assembly seat. 

The elections to 147-member Odisha Legislative Assembly will be held in four phases, simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls, on May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1 while the votes will be counted on June 4.