Four parliamentary and 28 assembly constituencies are voting in the first phase of the Lok Sabha election on Thursday in Odisha, where Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has held the fort for nearly two decades now.

And, Odisha is one of the key eastern states where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is looking to make big gains in the 2019 elections. The national party suffered heavy losses in the state after the BJD walked out of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) just before the Lok Sabha election in 2009.

The Election Commission has made extensive arrangements for the simultaneous polling scheduled to be held in the four Lok Sabha seats of the Maoist-affected regions of Kalahandi, Nabarangapur, Berhampur and Koraput and the 28 assembly constituencies under these segments.

Also read: Numbers, names and issues in Odisha

In the first phase, 26 candidates are in the fray for the four Lok Sabha seats and 191 are contesting for the 28 assembly seats. A total of 60,03,707 voters are eligible to cast their votes that will determine the fate of candidates of the ruling BJP and opposition BJP and Congress.

In Kalahandi parliamentary constituency, one of the 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha, BJD leader Pushpendra Singh Deo is facing the BJP’s state unit president Basanta Panda and senior Congress leader Bhakta Charan Das. No party ever has been able to win the Kalahandi Lok Sabha seat for two consecutive terms since 1980, except in 1984 and 1998 when the BJD)and BJP had a formidable alliance.

State transport minister Ramesh Chandra Majhi is contesting from the Nabarangpur Lok Sabha seat, reserved for the members of Scheduled Tribes. He is pitted against former colleague from his party Balabhadra Majhi and Congress’ Pradeep Majhi.

Berhampur, once a Congress safe seat, is witnessing a triangular contest. Chandra Sekhar Sahu, former Congress leader is looking to win the Berhampur Lok Sabha seat once again for the BJD. Sahu will face the BJP’s state general secretary Bhrugu Baxipatra and Congress leader V Chandrasekhar Naidu.

Reserved for the members of the Scheduled Tribes,Koraput is witnessing a fight amongst Congress’ Saptagiri Ulka, Kaushlya Hikaka of the BJD, the wife of sitting MP Jhina Hikaka, and BJP’s Jayaram Pangi in Lok Sabha election 2019.

Also read: All about Lok Sabha elections 2019

Votes will be counted on May 23 in Odisha along with all the other constituencies in the country.

First Published: Apr 11, 2019 12:36 IST