Calcutta:
The BJP on Sunday named 18 of Odisha’s 21 Lok Sabha seats after seat-sharing talks with Naveen Patnaik’s ruling Biju Janata Dal failed. The party has dropped four sitting MPs. Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan and party spokesperson Sambit Patra are among those named.
Sambit Patra: The well-known BJP face who narrowly lost in Puri last time has been fielded again. The BJD candidate against him could be Arup Patnaik, the former Mumbai Police Commissioner. Puri is the seat of Lord Jagannath and a prestige battle for both parties.
Dharmendra Pradhan:BJP heavyweight and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has been summoned from Sambalpur. It is likely that the BJD will field Pranab Prakash “Bobby” Das from his seat, so the fight is expected to attract a lot of attention.
Aparajita Sarangi: The sitting MP and former IAS officer has been posted again from Bhubaneswar.
Jay Panda: The former BJD leader who has joined the BJP will contest from his old seat Kendrapada. The Kendrapada Lok Sabha constituency had witnessed a high-profile contest between actor Anubhav Mohanty of BJD and Mr Panda in which Mr Mohanty won convincingly. However, Anubhav Mohanty may be dropped this time, sources indicate.
Jual Oram; The BJP has fielded sitting MP and former Union minister Jual Oram from Sundargarh, who won by nearly 2 lakh votes in 2019. The BJD is likely to field hockey legend Dillip Tirkey in Sundargarh.
PC Sarang:i The BJP’s Balasore candidate is known for his simple lifestyle. He is also a former union minister.