Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president and CM of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik has filed his nomination from the Kantabanji assembly segment under the Bolangir parliamentary constituency. His first seat is from the traditional Hinjili constituency in Ganjam district.
In the 2019 General Elections, Mr. Patnaik contested from Bijepur and Hinjili -subsequently, winning both seats. Despite the definitive win, he dropped his Bijepur seat for Kantabanji seat as Kantabanji is strategically located to three BJP influenced constituencies- Balangir, Kalahandi and Bargarh. The BJD president is all set to topple the BJP influence in these regions. The nomination was filed on Thursday in Titlagarh in the presence of the party leader V K Pandian.
On the other hand, BJP has sent back its key member, Dharmendra Pradhan– Union Education minister to Odisha after 15 years. The BJP candidate will contest from Sambalpur district, which has a strong presence of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Meanwhile Mr. Patnaik has begun his election campaigning. In one of his campaigns, he said, “This decade will be a golden era for the youth of the state as the government is placing emphasis on employment and skill development. We will bring a Youth budget in the state. Odisha is the first state in India to present a separate agriculture Budget.”
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“Development is our identity. However, opposition parties are playing politics on every issue and opposing developmental activities. They had opposed projects including the Shree Mandir Prikrama project. People of the state are aware of it. The coming decade will belong to Odisha,” Mr. Patnaik added.
Odisha is one of the 4 states, along with Sikkim, Andhra Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh, where assembly elections will be conducted along with Lok sabha elections. The polls will be conducted in 4 phases, beginning from May 13. Phase 2 comprising 35 ACs will poll on May 20, Phase 3 (42 ACs) on May 25 and Phase 4 (42 ACs) on June 1st. Counting will be done on June 4th.
The 2019 elections marked a significant political shift of power in Odisha when BJD won only 12 seats compared to 20 seats won in 2014 general elections. In contrast, BJP had won additional 8 seats (in 2019) from the previously won single seat in 2014. The upcoming elections will witness the real influence of parties, BJP or BJD, in the state.
