Orissa Political Parties Yet To Finalise Candidates

The major political parties in Orissa Ccongress, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and JD, are yet to finalise their lists of candidates even on the third day of filing of nomination papers yesterday.

Congress, which had announced candidates for 19 of 21 seats in the state, is yet to decide on its nominees for Cuttack and Berhampur constituencies, party sources said.

With the first phase of the elections just three weeks away the party is scouting for a candidate to defend Berhampur seat, won by former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao in the last polls as also a suitable nominee for the Cuttack constituency.

The name of rajya sabha member jayanti patnaik, who is the wife of chief minister j b patnaik is being considered as the possible nominee for one of the seats, the sources said.

Sitting congress member from cuttack in the dissolved house anadi charan sahu and the former party mp from berhampur gopinath gajapati have joined bjp. Gajapati is the saffron partys candidate from berhampur this time.

The bjd, which will contest 12 seats in alliance with the bjp (nine seats), has finalised only six candidates despite the political affairs committee (pac) meeting several times, bjd sources said.