Cong Final Candidates’ List By March 10; BJP, BJD Not Far Behind

Bhubaneswar: The AICC screening committee for Odisha has said it will announce the final list of candidates tentatively by March 10, while the BJP and the ruling BJD have also revved up their exercise for the ensuing Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.

The three-member AICC screening committee for Odisha, led by its chairperson V.D. Satheesan and two other members, Naushad Solanki and Jitin Prasad, have prepared the list of aspiring candidates for 21 Lok Sabha and 147 Assembly seats in two phases.

“An intense deliberation on the list of candidates will be made at the Pradesh Election Committee meeting on March 6 after which the list will be sent to the AICC central selection committee. With the approval of the committee, it is expected that the final list will be announced by March 10,” Satheesan told journalists at Congress Bhawan here.

The AICC screening committee had visited Odisha for the second time on February 25 on a three-day visit. During the visit, the committee held discussions with party leaders from Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies in Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Balasore, Bhadrak, Sambalpur, Sundargarh, Bargarh, Kandhamal and Jajpur districts.

During its first visit on February 13, the committee had held a meeting with party leaders of Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies from Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Puri Jagatsinghpur, Koraput, Kalahandi, Nabarangpur, Berhampur and Aska.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi had asked the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee to finalise candidates for the ensuing elections by February-end.

The BJP, too, has initiated the process of finalising the list of candidates for 100 Assembly and 19 Lok Sabha seats.

“Those who are working diligently to strengthen the party will be given tickets to contest the elections,” vice-president of the BJP’s state unit, Samir Mohanty, told journalists. “Talks for the selection of candidates are complete at the block, district and state level.” He said the final list will be announced after the party’s parliamentary board approves it.

The BJD has also started the process of candidate selection. BJD spokesperson Samir Dash said there are many aspirants, as the BJD is a large party. “But the fact remains that all BJD workers and leaders are disciplined and they will abide by whatever decision their party command takes in the selection of candidates,” he said.