BJD denies ticket to 8 MLAs, 2 MPs

Bhubaneswar: The ruling BJD in Odisha today denied ticket to eight sitting MLAs including former Finance Minister Prafulla Chandra Ghadai and two sitting MPs while announcing its candidates for 19 assembly and four Lok Sabha constituencies.

The sitting MLAs having denied ticket included Prafulla Ghadai (Sukinda), Parsuram Panigrahi (Simulia), Nabin Nanda (Dhenkanal), Rabindranath Bhoi (Tirtol), Arabinda Dhali (Jaydev), Rabindra Mallick (Kakatpur), Prasant Nanda (Begunia), Rabi Narayan Pani (Pallahara).

However, sons of two senior leaders were given ticket in place of their fathers. Pritiranjan Ghadai, also a sitting MLA from Korei, has been renominated, but he will contest from Sukinda which was represented by his father Prafulla Ghadai.

Similarly, sitting MLA Parsuram Panigrahi’s son Jyoti Prakash Panigrahi will contend from his father’s constituency of Simulia of Balasore district.

Among new faces, BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik has given ticket to cinestar Akash Das Nayak, son of prominent trade union leader Mayadhar Nayak, to contest from Korei seat.

Other new faces in the list are: Jyoti Prakash Panigrahi, Dr Rajeswari Mallick and Surendra Bhoi.