The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday fielded Bhartruhari Mahtab, veteran MP from Cuttack, as its candidate for Cuttack Lok Sabha seat, days after he joined the saffron party following his resignation from the Biju Janata Dal (BJD).
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Mr. Mahtab has represented the Cuttack Lok Sabha six times on a row on a BJD ticket since 1998. He resigned from the BJD on March 22, alleging the vast amassing of wealth by individuals at the BJD, which was established to fight corruption and self-aggrandisement.
Mr. Mahtab has been sidelined within the BJD for the past couple of years. He recently joined BJP along with former Berhampur MP Sidhant Mohapatra and tribal litterateur Damayanti Beshra at the party headquarters in New Delhi.
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The BJP’s central election committee approved the names of Sukanta Kumar Panigrahi and Rabindra Narayan Behera for the Kandhamal and Jajpur Lok Sabha constituencies, respectively. With this, the BJP has announced candidates for all 21 Lok Sabha seats of Odisha. The BJD has named candidates for 15 Lok Sabha constituencies. The Congress has not yet come up with a list.
Mr. Mahtab, son of former Odisha Chief Minister, the late Harekrushna Mahtab, edits the Odia daily Prajatantra, published from Cuttack. His candidature was keenly awaited as he is known to be an illuminating debater in the Lok Sabha, and is said to have impressed the BJP’s top leadership. Mr. Mahtab would lock horns with Santrupta Misra, who began his political career recently after giving up a senior corporate role as the director of human resources in the Aditya Birla Group.
Mr. Panigrahi, a disciplined member of the party, ended up on the losing side in the 2014 General Election. The BJP, however, has rewarded him by nominating him to a Lok Sabha seat.
Mr. Behera is an old party member and the forthcoming polls will mark his electoral debut.