Bhubaneswar: Seven sitting MPs and 14 MLAs have been denied tickets in its first phase list announced by the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) here Monday.
The party has denied tickets to Pratyusha Rajeshwari Singh, Arka Keshari Deo and Prabhas Kumar Singh for Kandhamal, Kalahandi and Bargarh Lok Sabha constituencies respectively.
Former chief minister Hemananda Biswal’s daughter Sunita Biswal will contest for Sundargarh seat, which is the only MP seat the party had lost in last poll.
The party has fielded Ramesh Majhi for Nabarangpur MP segment in place of Balabhadra Majhi, who has recently quit the party and joined BJP. Jhina Hikaka’s wife Kousalya has been nominated for the Koraput MP seat while former Union Minister & Congress leader Chandra Shekhar Sahu will fight for Berhampur LS seat, which is represented by Sidhant Mohapatra.
The party has announced that Rajya Sabha members–Achyuta Samanta and Prasanna Acharya – will contest for Kandhamal and Bargarh LS seats respectively. The ruling BJD has nominated MLA Puspendra Singh Deo for Kalahandi LS seat and SHG leader Pramila Bisoi for Aska Lok Sabha segment. Notably, Aska MP Ladu Kishore Swain passed away recently.
Tickets of these leaders have been denied because these leaders have lost face value and organisational strength in their respective areas. The BJP became stronger than what it was during last polls while some senior Congress leaders like Bhakta Charan Das and Pradip Majhi are also contesting for the LS. The party doesn’t want to take give a chance to the opposition party.
Similarly, the Biju Janata Dal has denied tickets to 14 sitting MLAs – Ayub Khan (Kantabanji), Anam Naik (Bhawanipatna), Dhaneswar Majhi (Narla), Rajib Patra (Baliguda), Dambaru Sisa (Chitrokonda), Ramesh Chandra Chyau Patnaik (Berhampur), Priyanshu Pradhan (Chatrapur), Basanti Mallck (Mohana), Rita Sahu (Bijepur), Trinath Gomango (Gunpur), Purna Chandra Nayak (Daspalla), V Sugnana Kumari Deo (Kabisuryanagar), Purna Chandra Sethi (Khalikote) and Debaraj Mohanty (Aska). Nabarangpur MLA Manohar Randhari has been shifted to Dabugan.
PNN