New faces likely in BJD list

BHUBANESWAR: AS only a few days remain for announcement of upcoming polls, speculation is rife over large scale changes in candidate list of the ruling BJD for both, Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will seek mandate for the fifth consecutive term in office in the ensuing Assembly elections. Besides, he looks to repeat the 2014 Lok Sabha election result to have an important say in national politics. BJD had won 20 Lok Sabha seats in last elections while one seat had gone to the BJP.

However, most of the MPs and MLAs of the party have become unpopular in their constituencies and the ruling BJD may have to contend with anti-incumbency factor if they are renominated for the upcoming polls. Political observers are of the view that many of the constituencies will have new faces.

Sources said sitting MPs of Berhampur, Koraput, Nabarangpur and Kalahandi may be denied tickets and some of them asked to contest Assembly elections. Both, Koraput and Nabarangpur MPs Jhina Hikaka and Balabhadra Majhi may be asked to contest the Assembly polls. While sitting BJD MLA is likely to be fielded from Nabarangpur Lok Sabha seat, the picture in Koraput still remains hazy with a number of aspirants looking for renomination.

Similarly, new faces will most likely be fielded from Western Odisha region where the BJP has a strong base. The party is reported to be looking for alternatives to change sitting MPs of Kalahandi, Bargarh and Sambalpur - Arka Keshari Deo, Prabhas Kumar Singh and Nagendra Pradhan respectively. While Dhenkanal MP Tathagata Satpathy has already announced his decision to quit politics, Ramachandra Hansdah of Mayurbhanj is unlikely to be renominated.

Meanwhile, Congress on Thursday made it clear it will not give more than one ticket per family. Odisha in-charge Jitendra Singh said it has been decided that henceforth, families of party leaders will not get more than one ticket to contest in elections. “However, if a senior family member, to whom the ticket is allotted, decides not to contest, he or she has the option to pass on the ticket to his/her son or daughter,” he said.Singh said the party has decided to focus on women, youth and new faces in candidate selection. “Considering that there are nearly 50 per cent youths in Odisha, the Congress feels it is necessary to give maximum opportunity to youths to represent their constituencies,” he said.

The Pradesh Election Committee of Congress which met here on Wednesday has submitted the list of probables to the Central Election Committee. Candidates for the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections are likely to be announced around March 10.President of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee Niranjan Patnaik said several  list of candidates doing the rounds in social media are false.

Political speculations

MPs of Berhampur, Koraput, Nabarangpur and Kalahandi may be denied tickets
Koraput and Nabarangpur MPs may be asked to contest Assembly polls
Dhenkanal MP has quit politics, Mayurbhanj MP unlikely to be renominated