BJD starts candidate selection without waiting for BJP’s decision on poll tie-up

BJD in Odisha starts candidate selection for Lok Sabha and assembly elections amid alliance uncertainty with BJP.

The ruling BJD of Odisha has started the process of selecting candidates for the Lok Sabha and assembly elections, as the process for a pre-poll alliance with the BJP is in limbo.

Chief Minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik also asked his party leaders to pay all attention to their constituencies instead of staying put in the state capital and lobbying for tickets, a party insider said.

“We will start selecting our candidates without waiting for the BJP’s decision (on alliance). We will see what will happen later,” a senior BJD leader said.

A BJP team from Odisha has been camping at the national capital holding meetings with central leaders over seat sharing with Biju Janata Dal (BJD) for the past two days.

Elections to the Lok Sabha and the assembly in the State will be held in four phases on May 13, 20 25 and June 1.

The BJD has directed the leaders to inform the party authorities of their day-to-day activities in constituencies daily.

For this purpose, Patnaik has opened two monitoring cells, one at his residence ‘Naveen Niwas’ and another at ‘Sankha Bhawan’, the State party headquarters, to keep a tab on the activities of the leaders in their constituencies.