Odisha: BJD's Lekhasri Samantsinghar thanks CM Naveen Patnaik on being made Balasore LS pick

Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], April 12 (ANI): BJD leader Lekhasri Samantsinghar, who was named the party's candidate from Odisha's Balasore constituency for the Lok Sabha elections, thanked BJD chief and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday.
Speaking to ANI, Samantsinghar said, "I would like to offer my gratitude to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for picking me as a candidate for the Balasore Lok Sabha seat... I will work for the development (of the area)... I will work for the people of Balasore. This is a great opportunity for me to reach out to the people."
In another development, CM Naveen Patnaik announced the fourth list of nine candidates for the Odisha assembly elections and one for the Lok Sabha elections.
According to BJD sources, the candidates who have been fielded for the Odisha Assembly Elections are Prabhu Jani from Laxmipur, Gitanjali Routray from Paradip, Prasanna Acharya from Sambalpur, Rohit Pujari from Rairakhol, Madhab Sardar from Telkoi, Braja Pradhan from Talcher, Manorama Mohanty from Narla, Chakramani Kanhar from Baliguda, and Ananta N Jena from BBSR-Central.
Earlier, on Wednesday, the BJD announced a 38-member manifesto committee for the Lok Sabha elections.
The committee will hold discussions with people across age groups and from different sections of society before drafting the manifesto.
Berhampur MP and BJD vice-president Chandrashekhar Sahu was appointed as the chairman of the committee.
Debi Prasad Mishra, Pratap Deb, Saudam Marndi, Mangala Kissan, Padmanav Behera and Kasturi Mohapatra were appointed as co-chairmen of the committee.
Earlier, on Thursday, Patnaik announced the second list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Odisha.
Notably, in the 2019 Assembly polls, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) secured a significant victory with 112 seats, with Naveen Patnaik becoming CM for the fifth consecutive time since 2000.
The Election Commission announced earlier that the assembly polls in Odisha will be held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha elections and will be completed in four phases, starting May 13. The remaining three phases of polling are scheduled for May 20, May 25 and June 1.
The counting of votes has been scheduled for June 4. (ANI)