Twin Polls: Odisha BJP Chief Manmohan Samal leaves for Delhi with names of candidates

Bhubaneswar: Amidst speculation surrounding a possible pre-poll alliance between the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Odisha, the state president of the saffron party, Manmohan Samal, left for New Delhi on Monday for discussions with the central leadership regarding the list of potential candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha and assembly elections.

Accompanied by Odisha BJP’s organisational secretary, Manas Mohanty, Samal carried the shortlisted list of candidates prepared by the state election committee, which had convened on Saturday for this purpose.

BJP's election in-charge for Odisha, Vijaypal Singh Tomar, and co-in charge Lata Usendi had departed for the national capital a day earlier.

The candidate list for various Lok Sabha and assembly constituencies were previously drafted by the State Election Committee and core committee.

Senior BJP leader and MP Jual Oram emphasised that there is no confusion among party workers regarding any potential alliance.

He confirmed that the state party has forwarded a list of probable candidates to the central leadership, and further actions will be taken based on the decision of the central leaders regarding any possible alliance with the BJD.

The final decision on candidates for each constituency will be made by the BJP parliamentary board.

Although the BJP has announced candidates for Lok Sabha seats in various states in two phases, no candidates have been declared from Odisha yet. The state leadership anticipates that the names of candidates for Odisha will be announced by the party’s central election committee in the third phase.

Meanwhile, the ruling BJD convened a meeting at Naveen Niwas, the residence of the chief minister, to initiate the process of candidate selection.

BJD observers and party leaders from Puri Lok Sabha Constituency were present at the meeting, including Arun Sahoo, Sanjay Das Burma, Rudra Maharathy, Umakant Samantray, and Satya Pradhan, among others.

After the meeting at Naveen Niwas, Sahoo said, "We had a detailed discussion on the organisational activities in seven assembly segments under Puri Lok Sabha constituency. The leaders were told to activate people contact programmes in the Puri LS seat. It is a regular phenomenon in the party.

However, uncertainty looms over the potential pre-poll alliance between the BJD and the BJP. Discussions regarding the alliance have been ongoing in state politics since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the state on March 5.