BJP declares 3 LS, 11 Assembly candidates for Odisha

Bhubaneswar: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday announced candidates for three Lok Sabha seats and eleven assembly seats in Odisha. The list has some surprises. While BJP has fielded yesteryear ollywood actress Aparajita Mohanty from Bhubaneswar North, the party has made veteran leader Bijoy Mahapatra its nominee from Patkura in Kendrapara. Bijoy had fought the 2014 battle from Mahakalpara against BJD leader Atanu Sabyasachi. Atanu has been re-nominated by BJD from Mahakalpara. Aparajita was the Congress LS candidate from Cuttack in 2014 polls.

Post the sweep of Mayurbhanj in rural polls 2017, all eyes were riveted on BJP candidate from Mayurbhanj. The party has nominated Biseswar Tudu, an engineer by profession, for the seat. And as expected, BJP has made Abhimanyu Sethi, son of former BJD MP Arjun Sethi, its candidate for the Bhadrak Lok Sabha. For the Jajpur LS seat, Amiya Mallick will be party's face.

BJP has also given ticket to Jayanta Sarangi, former Puri civic body chairman, from Puri Assembly seat, when Sarangi has joined the BJP only yesterday. Sitting Nilgiri MLA Sukanta Nayak, who had recently quit BJD, has been nominated from Nilagiri assembly seat. The other declared candidates are: Alok Sethi (Anandpur), Naba Charan Majhi (Rairangpur), Krushna Chandra Mohapatra (Morada), Bhagirathi Pradhan (Athamalik), Subhranshu Shekhar Padhi(Banki), Brajendra Ray (Athagarh), Bijay Pradhan (Mahakalapada).