Ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Wednesday announced its first list of candidates for five of the 10 lok Sabha and 30 of the 70 Assembly seats which are going to polls in the first phase scheduled to be held on April 10 next. Three members from royal family, film star and hockey player were among the candidates announced by BJD chief Naveen Patnaik who himself would test his luck from Hinjili Assembly seat for the fifth time.
As many as nine new faces, including only three women candidates, figured in the list, while ten sitting members were given tickets. However, there is no woman candidate in the lok Sabha list of five. Four of his Cabinet colleagues also retained their respective Assembly seats as candidates in the ensuing polls.
All the four Ministers were not being disturbed from their present seats. While Transport Minister Subrat Tarai was given ticket from Raghunath Palli, Revenue Minister Surya Naranan Patro would contest from Digapahandi, SC/ST Development Minister lal Bihari Himirika from Rayagada and Industry Minister Niranjan Pujari would contest from Sonepur.
In the list of candidates for lok Sabha, two scions - Kalikesh Naryan Singh Deo from Bolangir royal family and Arka Keshari Deo from Kalahandi royal family figured in the list to contest the Bolangir and Kalahandi seats respectively. While Kalikesh, a sitting MP, was re-nominated, Arka is a new face and son of former lok Sabha member Bikram Keshari Deo.
Besides film star- turned politician Sidhanta Mohapatra, present MP from Brahmapur, was re-nominated from the same seat, while former hockey captain Dillip Tirkey, despite being a sitting Rajya Sabha MP, was nominated for the Sundargarh lok Sabha seat. The third member of royal family in the list Nalini Devi is the Raj mata of Dhrakote and daughter-in-law of Anata Narayan Sigh Deo. Nalini has been given ticket from Sanakhemundi. The Chikiti queen and present Minister Usha Devi was also given the ticket from her present seat.
The BJD chief has also given tickets to those who were part of the aborted coup allegedly masterminded by Pyarimohan Mohapatra. They are Pushpendra Singh Deo from Dharmagarh and Sarada Nayak from Rourkela. The list figured the name of Geeta Sahu, wife of slain BJD leader Abhimanyu Sahu from Titilagarah Assembly seat. Similarly, the BJD chief also accommodated latika Pradhan, daughter of sitting lok Sabha member from Aska Nityananda Pradhan who opted out on the plea of ill health. latika would contest from Kabisurya Nagar Assembly segment, now represented by V Sugyan Kumari Deo. Sugyan Kumari Deo also refused to contest the forthcoming polls on health grounds.
laddu Kishore Swain, a former party MlA, was given ticket for Aska lok Sabha seat. Releasing the list of candidates, the BJD chief said that over 50,000 aspirants had applied for requesting candidature of the BJD from every nook and corner of the State. “I am indeed humbled and personally moved by the confidence you have reposed in the BJD and Biju Ideology,” Patnaik said and thanked each one of the applicant.
The Chief Minister hoped that all those who had applied for ticket will continue to support the BJD to serve the people of Odisha and create a strong, self-reliant and prosperous Odisha. He said as per discussion with senior party colleagues and the workers of BJD, the first list of candidates for Assembly and Parliament elections was finalised.