Bhubaneswar, March 25 (IANS): Union Education Minister and BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan will contest from Odisha's Sambalpur Lok Sabha constituency in the upcoming general elections, replacing sitting MP Nitesh Ganga Deb.
Pradhan, who has held several important portfolios in the NDA government since 2014, for the first time will try his luck in a direct electoral battle after being sworn in as a Union Minister. He has been elected to Rajya Sabha twice from Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.
The BJP on Sunday announced the list of its candidates for 18 out of the 21 Lok Sabha constituencies in Odisha for the upcoming elections. BJP national spokesperson, Sambit Patra, has been named to contest from Puri Lok Sabha constituency.
Patra contested from the same constituency in the 2019 general elections but lost the seat following a neck-to-neck fight.
Meanwhile, former bureaucrat and Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi has been retained by the party from the same constituency. The BJP has also renominated Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo from Bolangir Lok Sabha seat.
Senior leader Jual Oram has been renominated from the Sundargarh constituency while the party's national vice president, Baijayant 'Jay' Panda will contest from the Kendrapara seat.
Former Union Minister and sitting MP Pratap Chandra Sarangi will again contest from the Balasore constituency.
The BJP has fielded sitting Rairangpur MLA Naba Charan Majhi from the tribal-dominated Mayurbhanj Lok Sabha constituency, the home district of President Droupadi Murmu.
Surprisingly, the BJP fielded Majhi replacing Union Minister Bishweswar Tudu who had won the Mayurbhanj seat in the 2019 election.
The party has dropped four sitting MPs -- Basanta Kumar Panda from Kalahandi, Suresh Pujari from Bargarh, Nitesh Gang Dev from Sambalpur, and Union Minister Bishweswar Tudu from Mayurbhanj. All other sitting MPs have been renominated from their respective constituencies.
Former BJD leader Pradeep Kumar Panigrahi, who has recently joined the saffron party, will contest from the Berhampur Lok Sabha constituency replacing senior BJP leader Bhrugu Buxipatra.
Similarly, Malvika Keshari Deo, the wife of former Kalahandi MP Arka Keshari Deo, will contest from the Kalahandi seat. The party has fielded Malavika in place of senior leader and sitting MP Basanta Kumar Panda.
Pradeep Purohit has replaced Suresh Pujari from the Bargarh constituency.
BJP leader Anita Subhadarshini will contest from Aska while Ananta Nayak will contest from the Keonjhar constituency. Former minister, Arjun Sethi's son, Avimanyu Sethi has been fielded from the Bhadrak constituency.