For the first time, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) supremo and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik would contest from two Assembly constituencies in the elections next month.
Patnaik’s name figured in the first list of BJD candidates announced by him on Monday.
While retaining his four-time-old Hinjili seat in his native Ganjam district, he would also be the party candidate from Bijepur in Bargarh district of western Odisha.
Patnaik had on Sunday been urged by several BJD leaders of the western region to offer himself as a candidate in their area apparently to meet a challenge the BJP and the Congress may give to the State’s ruling party in the region.
Sources said that in the event of winning both the seats, Patnaik would retain Bijepur, leaving Hinjili for a by-election