The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) today announced the names of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.

BJD president and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik declared the names of fifteen candidates out of the 21 Lok Sabha seats in the State.

The Odisha Chief Minister himself will contest from the Hinjili Assembly segment in Ganjam district. The BJD has fielded its General Secretary (organisation) Pranab Prakash Das in the Sambalpur Lok Sabha seat against Union Minister and BJP candidate Dharmendra Pradhan. The BJD has announced the names of 72 candidates for the 147 Assembly seats in Odisha.

Odisha is going for simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th phases of the General Elections.