BJP holds core committee meetings to discuss candidates for Odisha Lok Sabha polls

New Delhi [India], March 28 (ANI): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday held Odisha core committee meetings at the party headquarters to discuss potential candidates for the Lok Sabha polls.

BJP National President JP Nadda chaired the meeting, while party National General Secretary BL Santosh, Odisha incharge Vijay Pal Tomar, Odisha state President Manmohan Samal, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Odisha MP Jual Oram and BJP National spokesperson Sambit Patra are also present in the meeting.
Meanwhile, the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has already announced the first list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Odisha.
Odisha CM and BJD chief Naveen Patnaik took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to share the list of the nine Lok Sabha candidates, namely for Sambalpur, Kalahandi, Bhubaneswar, Kendrapara, Nabarangpur, Sundargarh, Mayurbhanj, Aska and Koraput seats.
Naveen Patnaik will re-contest from the Hinjili Assembly constituency for a sixth term.
Back in 2000, Patnaik became the chief minister of Odisha for the first time.BJD General Secretary Pranab Prakash Das has been pitted against Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan of the BJP in Sambalpur.
Hours after joining BJD, the Biju Janata Dal announced Manmath Routray, son of Congress veteran leader Suresh Routraya, as the Lok Sabha candidate from Bhubaneswar.
Former Odisha Congress MLA Anshuman Mohanty, who joined the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on February 16, will contest the election from the Kendrapara Lok Saha seat.
Pradeep Kumar Majhi, who left Congress on October 22, 2021 and joined BJD later on, is a nominee from Nabarangpur.BJD filed former Indian Hockey Captain and Padma Shri awardee, Dilip Tirkey as the party nominee from the Sundargarh seat.
Minister of Revenue and Disaster Management (Government of Odisha), a five-time MLA, has been named a BJD candidate from Mayurbhanj.
The party fielded Lambodhar Nial from Kalahandi, Ranjita Sahu from Aska and Kaushalya Hikaka from Koraput.
The Lok Sabha elections in Odisha, which comprise 21 constituencies, are set to take place in four phases. The voting dates have been scheduled for May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections in Odisha, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) emerged as the dominant party, securing 20 out of the 21 seats, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won a single seat.
However, the 2019 elections saw a shift in the political landscape. The BJD's seat count was reduced to 12, while the BJP made significant gains, winning 8 seats. This change marked a notable increase in the BJP's presence in the state. The Indian National Congress (INC) also managed to secure a seat in the 2019 elections. (ANI)