Bhubaneswar, (Reporterspen), May 2: On Thursday, Chief Minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik officially entered the electoral fray for Kantabanji, marking his candidacy for a second constituency alongside his traditional stronghold of Hinjli in the upcoming Odisha elections.
Arriving via a special chopper at a temporary helipad in City High School ground, Naveen Patnaik proceeded in a cavalcade to the office of the Titlagarh sub-collector, the designated returning officer for Kantabanji, to file his nomination papers. Accompanying him were 5T chairman V K Pandian, senior BJD leader A U Singhdeo, and sitting Titlagarh MLA Tukuni Sahu. This move follows Naveen’s nomination filing for the Hinjli Assembly constituency two days prior, where he seeks re-election for a sixth consecutive term.
Kantabanji has historically been a challenging seat for the BJD in western Odisha, having secured third place in the 2019 Assembly polls. Congress’ Santosh Singh Saluja emerged victorious, while Laxman Bag of the BJP secured the second position in Kanjabannji, falling under the Balangir Lok Sabha seat, currently represented by BJP’s Sangeeta Singh Deo. By nominating Naveen from Kantabanji, the BJD aims not only to reclaim the seat, won once in 2014, but also to diminish the BJP’s vote share and potentially influence the broader political landscape in western Odisha, where the BJP secured all five Lok Sabha seats in 2019.
