Bolangir: Senior BJD leader and former minister Ananga Udaya Singh Deo has announced he will not contest the 2019 elections.
The BJD vice-president ruled out contesting the elections in 2019 even as the ruling party, the Congress and the BJP are busy strengthening their positions ahead of the general elections.
Singh Deo said he will neither contest the Assembly polls nor will become a candidate for the Lok Sabha elections.
When asked what he would do if his friend and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik asks him to contest the elections, he said he takes a decision only once and always sticks to it. Singh Deo, however, said he will remain active in politics.
The revelation has warmed up the local politics in the district with many people guessing about the leader’s political future. It is likely that the BJD will field a new candidate in his place from the Bolangir Assembly segment.
Singh Deo said the decision to finalise a new candidate from the constituency rests in the hands of the Chief Minister.
Singh Deo unsuccessfully fought Congress candidate Narasingh Mishra from the Bolangir Assembly segment in the 2014 elections.
Speculations are rife that the BJD might field Singh Deo’s younger son Arkesh Narayan Singh Deo or his elder son Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo, who is now a Lok Sabha MP, in his place from the Bolangir Assembly segment in the 2019 Assembly elections.