Wanted Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda’s wife Subhashree (Mili) Panda on Wednesday joined the Aama Odisha Party (AOP) along with 150 women belonging to the Ranpur-based outfit Janamanch Odisha, of which she is the president.
Mili said she would like to contest elections from the Ranpur Assembly constituency, where she has been active
in public life. Mili, who was arrested and in jail for two years for her alleged links with the outlawed CPI-Maoist party, was acquitted in 2012.
She launched the Janmanch Odisha in 2013. Her father-in-law late Ramesh Panda had represented the Ranpur Assembly constituency thrice on the CPI(M) ticket.
The AOP, headed by Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, is contesting the polls along with Kharabel Swain-led Utkal Bharat under a common election symbol ‘pot’.
AOP chief Patnaik on Wednesday announced the names of its candidates for the Kalahandi lok Sabha and Bhawanipatna Assembly seats.
While Daitari Pradhan will be the AOP candidate for the Kalahandi lS seat, Sarat Naik was named as the candidate for the Bhawanipatna Asembly constituency.