Bhubaneswar: The BJP Monday named party’s state vice-president Pitamber Acharya as its candidate against ruling BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who is seeking a re-election from Hinjili assembly seat in Ganjam district, party sources said.
This will be the first time that Acharya will fight the assembly polls though he has been in politics since his student days and was the president of the students’ union in BJB College here in the 90s.
Acharya, a senior advocate of Orissa High Court, is also the BJP’s spokesman. He was assigned the responsibility of the party’s vice-president barely two days ago. The BJP is yet to name its candidate against Patnaik in Bijepur Assembly seat from where the BJD president will also contest. Confirming that he will contest from Hinjili Assembly seat, Acharya said he would contest against the Chief Minister to win the polls.
BJP sources said Acharya was interested to contest from Cuttack Lok Sabha seat. But the party fielded former DGP Prakash Mishra in Cuttack and decided to pit him (Acharya) against the Chief Minister, sources said.
Acharya’s name as party candidate from Hinjili was announced in a separate press release issued by the BJP’s central office. Patnaik, who is seeking reelection for the fifth consecutive time, had filed his nomination papers for Hinjili at Chhatrapur in Ganjam district March 20. Polling in the seat, which falls under Aska Lok Sabha seat, will be held in the second phase April 18.
Patnaik has been elected to the Assembly four times in a row from Hinjili since 2000. In 2014 he had polled 89,267 votes against his nearest Congress rival Sibram Patra’s 12,681 votes. BJP candidate Debananda Mohapatra was in the third place by securing only 12,283 votes in 2014 polls.
CM files nomination for Bijepur segment
Bhubaneswar: BJD supremo and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Monday filed his nomination papers for Bijepur Assembly seat in western Odisha, the second Assembly seat he is contesting for the first time in his electoral history. He had filed nomination from Hinjili Assembly seat March 20 from where he has been winning in a row since 2000 Assembly elections. Both Hinjili and Bijepur Assembly seats will go to poll in the second phase April 18 next.