Odisha Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Puri to Sambalpur, a look at the key battles

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress-led I.N.D.I.A. bloc are engaged in a triangular contest in the eastern state, which is all set to vote for the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly polls simultaneously.

Voting for the Lok Sabha elections in Odisha will be conducted in the last four phases from May 13 to June 1. The counting of votes will be done on June 4. The state comprises 21 parliamentary constituencies, of which three are reserved for the SC candidates and five for the ST candidates. The remaining seats are unreserved.

During the 2019 general elections, the BJD emerged as the frontrunner in Odisha, taking 12 of the 21 seats. The BJP ranked second winning in eight constituencies, while the remaining one seat went to the Congress party.

Earlier this year, discussions were on between the BJP and BJD regarding a pre-poll alliance in the state, raising hopes of the two big parties coming together for the first time ever since the BJD exited the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in 2009. However, the alliance talks between them remained inconclusive as the BJP in late March informed that it had decided to go solo in both the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Odisha.

All three parties have fielded some heavyweights in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections to garner as many seats as possible. Here’s a look at some of the key battles in Odisha:

1. Puri

Puri has been a bastion of BJD since 1998. However, the party has this time replaced its three-time sitting MP Pinaki Misra with former Mumbai police commissioner Arup Patnaik, who is pitted against BJP’s Sambit Patra and Congress’ Jay Narayan Patnaik. In 2019, Misra defeated Patra by more than 11,000 votes.

ALSO READ: Congress nominee from Puri Lok Sabha seat withdraws, citing no funds from party

2. Sundargarh

BJP’s Jual Oram is eyeing a sixth term from the Sundargarh seat and is contesting against Hockey India President and BJD candidate Dilip Tirkey and Congress’ former MLA Janardan Dehury. Last time, Oram won this seat by defeating BJD candidate Sunita Biswal by over 2.23 lakh votes.

3. Sambalpur

The BJP has replaced its sitting MP Nitesh Ganga Deb with Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan from this high-profile seat in Odisha. He is up against Congress’ Nagendra Pradhan, who was earlier a minister in the Naveen Patnaik government and won the Sambalpur seat in 2014 on a BJD ticket. He recently left BJD and joined Congress. The BJD has fielded Pranab Prakash Das from this seat.

4. Kendrapara

One of the key constituencies in the state, Kendrapara is witnessing a direct contest between BJD’s Anshuman Mohanty and Baijayant Panda of BJP. The BJD has not given a ticket to its sitting MP Anubhav Mohanty, who in 2019 defeated Panda, a two-time MP, by more than 1.5 lakh votes. The Congress has nominated Sidharth Swarup Das from here.

5. Koraput

Since its inception, this seat has mostly been held by the Congress party. While BJD ended Congress’ winning streak in 2009 and again registered a victory in 2014, the grand old party’s Saptagiri Ulaka won it back from BJD in the 2019 elections. This was the only seat Congress won last time.

Congress has once again nominated Saptagiri Ulaka from this seat, while BJD has named Kausalya Hikaka and Kaliram Majhi is representing BJP.

ALSO READ: Odisha Assembly Elections 2024: First phase of voting on May 25, check result date

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow