2019 Elections: BJD reposes faith in sitting MLAs, declares tickets for 9 seats

Bhubaneswar: Amid rising dissidence over allotment of tickets, the ruling-BJD today declared candidates for nine Assembly constituencies in Odisha.

Reposing faith on sitting legislators, the party has fielded six-time MLA Pradeep Maharathy from Pipili and Samir Ranjan Das from Nimapara Assembly seat.

Similarly, Pramod Mallick, the current party MLA from Niali constituency, Kakatpur MLA Surendra Sethi have been renominated from their current Assembly constituencies. Party MLA Prashant Muduli will contest elections from Jagatsinghpur constituency.

Bhagirathi Sethi, who shockingly joined BJD on March 29 just days after being nominated BJP’s candidate from Anandapur Assembly constituency, will contest elections from the same constituency but this time with ruling-BJD ticket.

BJD has also nominated Santosh Khatua for Nilagiri Assembly constituency, former MLA Rajendra Kumar Das for Dhamnagar constituency and Raghunandan Das for Balikuda-Erasama Assembly constituency for the upcoming polls.