BJP names 112 candidates for Odisha Assembly polls to challenge BJD

The Odisha assembly has 147 seats and the BJP has emerged as the main challenger to the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday re-nominated 21 of its 22 sitting MLAs in Odisha while announcing the list of candidates for 112 of the 147 Assembly constituencies in the state.

The lone legislator who has been denied the BJP ticket was Lalitendu Bidyadhar Mohapatra from Brahmagiri in Puri district. Mohapatra's niece Upasana Mohapatra has got the ticket from the Brahmagiri Assembly seat.

There are eight women candidates.

As per the list, BJP state president Manmohan Samal will contest from the Chandbali assembly segment in Bhadrak district while senior party leader and sitting MP from Bargarh Suresh Pujari will contest from Brajarajnagar Assembly seat. Pujari was denied the party ticket for contesting the Lok Sabha polls this time.

Leader of Opposition and MLA Jaynarayan Mishra will contest from his traditional Sambalpur assembly seat.

Three turncoats from BJD, Arabinda Dhali, Akash Das Nayak and Priyadarshi Mishra were given BJP tickets. Arabinda Dhali will fight from the Jayadev assembly segment in Khurda district.

While actor-turned-politician Akash Das Nayak, has been given the ticket for Korei Assembly segment in Jajpur district, former BJD MLA Priyadarshi Mishra will fight the polls from Bhubaneswar North seat.

While the saffron party's youth leader Tankadhar Tripathy will fight the Assembly polls from Jharsuguda, MLA Kusum Tete will contest from Sundargarh Assembly seat and Biswaranjan Badajena from Jatni.

Jagannath Pradhan has been fielded from Bhubaneswar Central, Babu Singh from Bhubaneswar Ekamra and Prithiviraj Harichandan from Chilika Assembly seat.