Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday filed his nomination for the Kantabanji Assembly seat in Balangir district, the second seat after the Hinjili Assembly constituency from which he traditionally contests, for the 2024 Odisha Assembly election, being held alongside the ongoing general election.
Thursday saw political heavyweights, including Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, former Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national spokesperson Aparajita Sarangi, and BJD candidate and former Mumbai Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik filing nominations for their respective seats.
Mr. Patnaik, flanked by his close aide V.K. Pandian, flew down to Titilagarh, considered the hottest place in Odisha, to file his nomination papers. The BJD supremo’s selection of Kantabanji as his second seat assumes significance as it’s situated closer to three Lok Sabha seats — Balangir, Kalahandi, and Bargarh — which are BJP strongholds.
Mr. Pradhan, who is returning to Odisha to participate in a direct election after 15 years, has filed his nomination for the Sambalpur Lok Sabha seat. With the backing of outfits linked to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which have a substantial presence in Sambalpur, Mr. Pradhan is confident of winning the election.
Mr. Oram, who is seeking re-election from the Sundargarh Lok Sabha seat, also filed his nomination on Thursday.
Former IAS officer and BJP spokesperson Ms. Sarangi has filed her nomination to contest from the prestigious Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha seat. Mr. Arup Patnaik, a former IPS officer who earned a name for himself as Mumbai’s Commissioner of Police, took the blessings of the deities at the Shree Jagannath temple in Puri, before filing his nomination for the Puri Lok Sabha seat.
