BJD springs no major surprise

BHUBANESWAR: Nine new faces found place in BJD's first list of candidates released here on Wednesday for the assembly and Lok Sabha elections. Its nominees included CM Naveen Patnaik (Hinilicut in Ganjam), 15 MLAs, five ministers, four former ministers, four royal family scions and five women.

Naveen ended suspense gripping ticket aspirants, announcing the names of 30 nominees for the assembly segments spread over Sundargarh, Rayagada, Ganjam, Kalahandi Nuapada, Sonepur and Bolangir districts and five for LS constituencies. All these constituencies go to polls on April 10.

Though Naveen didn't spring any major surprise, nine-time legislator V Sugnana Kumari Deo, who represented Kavisuryanagar in Ganjam, was missing from the list. Newcomer Latika Pradhan, daughter of Aska MP Nityananda Pradhan, got the ticket.

Nityananda, who deserted CPI to become a BJD candidate in 2009, was denied re-nomination, with ex-MLA Ladu Kishore Swain bagging the ticket for the Aska LS seat, of which Hinjilicut is a part. Loisingha MLA Ramakanta Seth was denied a ticket, with ex-lawmaker Jogendra Behera getting it.

As was speculated, hockey icon and RS member Dilip Tirkey was given BJD ticket for the Sundargarh LS seat to take on former Union minister Jual Oram and Congress MP Hemananda Biswal. Arka Keshari Deo, son of ex-MP of Kalahandi Bikram Keshari Deo, was nominated for the Kalahandi LS segment to battle Congres MP Bhakta Charan Das and BJP's Pradipta Naik. While Arka was the lone fresh face among MP candidates, the regional party chose to re-nominate Berhampur MP Siddhant Mohapatra and Bolangir MP Kalikesh Singhdeo. In 2009, BJD left Sundargarh to CPM and its candidate Subhash Nayak lost in Kalahandi.