Bhubaneswar: BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, former central minister Jual Oram and several other leaders of Odisha Thursday filed nomination papers for the ensuing Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
Patnaik filed his nomination papers from the Kantabanji assembly segment under the Bolangir parliamentary constituency in the state’s western region, two days after he filed his papers from his traditional Hinjili seat in Ganjam district.
Patnaik chose Kantabanji as the second seat as it is strategically located and connected to three Lok Sabha seats such as Kalahandi, Bolangir, and Bargarh. These three LS seats were won by the opposition BJP in the 2019 elections.
Patnaik in 2019 had also contested from two seats – Bijepur and Hinjili – and had won in both. He retained the Hinjili seat while resigning from the Bijepur assembly segment.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who is set to contest the Lok Sabha elections after a gap of 15 years, also filed his nomination paper from the Sambalpur Lok Sabha seat.
Pradhan held a massive roadshow in Sambalpur city after offering prayers at Samaleswari temple.
“The blessings of Maa Samaleswari are with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP will win 21 out of 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha,” he told reporters.
Five-time BJP MP Jual Oram, who is also a former Union minister, also during the day filed his nomination paper for the Sundergarh Lok Sabha seat after offering prayers at his village and tribal god.
He is seeking re-election from the Sundargarh LS seat and is pitted against BJD’s Dilip Tirkey, who submitted his nomination papers on April 30.
Meanwhile, the Khurda collectorate witnessed a noisy scene when the supporters of BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi and BJD MP candidate Manmath Routray shouted slogans during the filing of nomination.
After offering prayers at the Maa Bhuasuni temple at Jalna, Sarangi along with her supporters reached Khurda collectorate to file the nomination. Women supporters also took out a scooter rally from Baramunda ground to Khurda.
“With the blessings of Lord Jagannath and Lord Lingaraj, I am again seeking election from the Bhubaneswar LSD seat. This is a fight of the people of the constituency,” she said.
Manmath Routray, son of Congress MLA Suresh Routray, also arrived at the Khurda collectorate riding a bullock cart and blowing conches.
“I am a son of Paika (peasant soldier) and the bullock cart is its symbol. I am overwhelmed to see the crowd accompanying me to the collectorate. I am confident of a landmark victory in the elections,” he told reporters.
His father and Jatani MLA Suresh Routray, who has been expelled from Congress for supporting his BJD candidate son, was seen performing a traditional sword dance in the procession.
While Sundargarh will vote on May 20, Sambalpur and Bhubaneswar will go to polls on May 25.
PTI