Bhubaneswar: Few days after getting relief from Delhi High court in the coal scam case, senior BJP leader and former Union Minister Dilip Ray has been nominated for Rourkela Assembly seat.
Shri Ray will fight against BJD’s senior leader and Minister Sarada Prasad Nayak. Congress has nominated Bitrendra Nath Patnaik for the constituency.
The BJP has announced names of 21 MLA candidates in its second list today, which includes replacement of two candidates and nomination of Ray.
The party has changed candidates for two assembly constituencies, Ranpur under Puri Parliamentary constituency and Pottangi under Koraput Lok Sabha constituency.
BJP has named senior party leader Surama Padhy in place of Tapas Ranjan Martha from Ranpur Assembly seat while Chaitanya Nandibali has been named the party’s candidate from Pottangi seat in place of Chaitanya Hantal.
The party has given tickets to five BJD leaders including ex-MLAs, who switched over to BJP recently. The leaders are Kailash Kulesika (Laxmipur), Bhadav Hansdah (Saraskana), Amarendra Dash (Jagatsinghpur), Jagannath Nandruka (Bissam Cuttack), and Damburu Sisa (Chitrakonda).
There are two women candidates in the second MLA candidates list of the BJP. They are—Surama Padhy (Ranpur) and Sanjali Murmu (Bangriposi).
The BJP, so far, announced candidates for 131 MLA seats in two phases. The party has named LS candidates for all 21 seats.
