Lack Of Candidates! Naveen Names Self For A 2nd Seat, Swaps Seats of Pujari, Acharya

Bhubaneswar, Apr 17:Like the last election year, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will fight the ensuing Assembly elections from a second seat, Kantabanji this time, a move which has abruptly indicated that the ruling party has not found a worthy candidate for the seat.

Patnaik, the BJD supremo, announced the BJD's fifth Assembly list today in a video message. He named himself as a candidate for the Kantabanji assembly segment. Earlier, he was named as a nominee for his traditional Hinjli segment.

In 2019, the BJD chief contested from Bijepur in Bargarh district apart from Hinjli in Ganjam district.

Also read BJD's 5th List For Assembly Polls Released; Naveen To Fight From Kantabanji

The eight other candidates named today include Laxmipriya Nayak (Chitrakonda of Malkangiri district), Barsha Singh Bariha (Padampur), Rajendra Chhatria (Kuchinda), Arundhati Devi (Deogarh), Sanjukta Singh (Angul), Dilip Nayak (Nimapada), Gitanjali Devi (Sanakhemundi) and Indira Nanda (Jeypore).

Besides, he interchanged two earlier picked candidates- Rohit Pujari and Prasanna Acharya- between their seats- Rairakhol and Sambalpur in Sambalpur district. Earlier picked for Rairakhol, Pujari will now fight for Sambalpur, and, interchangeably, Acharya will fight from the Rairakhol seat.

This has also brought to the fore the weakness of the leaders' support base.