Patnaik to fight 2nd seat from Kantabanji in assembly polls
Odisha chief minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday announced that he will contest a second seat, the western Odisha town of Kantabanji, known for being the hub of annual migration of brick kiln workers of western Odisha to neighbouring states every autumn, apart from his pocket borough of Hinjili, repeating what he did in the 2019 assembly elections.
The incumbent chief minister’s move, analysts said, is aimed at boosting his party’s prospects in the region in both the assembly and the simultaneous Lok Sabha elections.
Patnaik announced names of candidates of the party for elections to the 147-member state assembly, and his candidature from Kantabanji, which falls under Bolangir Parliamentary constituency; both go to polls on May 20. Patnaik has already announced his decision to contest from Hinjili, a seat he has been representing since 2000.
The assembly elections in Odisha will be held in four phases, concurrent with the elections in the corresponding Parliamentary constituencies (there are 21 of these). Hinjili also goes to polls on May 20.
The five-time CM announced the names of eight other candidates, including six women cancould didates, for assembly elections, taking the total number of candidates announced to 126. Of the 126, the party has given tickets to 28 women, the highest so far among all the parties; most of the women are wives and daughters of sitting and former BJD MLAs or MPs. In his two-decades long political career, Patnaik never contested from two seats till he did so in 2019, from Bijepur, also in western Odisha.