Ahead of the Odisha Assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has reaffirmed its trust in 21 of its sitting MLAs, among the 22, while unveiling the list of candidates for 112 out of the 147 Assembly constituencies in the state.
The solitary exclusion from the incumbent list is Lalitendu Bidyadhar Mohapatra from Brahmagiri in Puri district, with his niece Upasana Mohapatra securing the BJP ticket for the Brahmagiri Assembly seat.
Among the candidates, eight women feature prominently in the BJP's electoral lineup.
Noteworthy nominations include Odisha BJP state president Manmohan Samal's candidacy for the Chandbali assembly segment in Bhadrak district and the selection of senior party leader and sitting MP from Bargarh, Suresh Pujari, for the Brajarajnagar Assembly seat.
Pujari, despite being denied the party ticket for the recent Lok Sabha polls, has been entrusted with contesting the Assembly elections.
Leader of Opposition and MLA Jaynarayan Mishra has been fielded from his traditional Sambalpur assembly seat, emphasising the party's commitment to retaining key constituencies.
The BJP's strategic move also involves the inclusion of turncoats from the ruling BJD, namely Arabinda Dhali, Akash Das Nayak, and Priyadarshi Mishra.
Arabinda Dhali will vie for the Jayadev assembly segment in Khurda district, while actor-turned-politician Akash Das Nayak and former BJD MLA Priyadarshi Mishra will contest from Korei and Bhubaneswar North seats, respectively.
Further, the saffron party's youth leader, Tankadhar Tripathy, is set to engage in the electoral battle from Jharsuguda, while MLA Kusum Tete and Biswaranjan Badajena will represent the party in Sundargarh and Jatni Assembly constituencies, respectively.
The BJP's candidate roster also includes Jagannath Pradhan from Bhubaneswar Central, Babu Singh from Bhubaneswar Ekamra, and Prithiviraj Harichandan from Chilika Assembly seat.
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