Six constituencies of Odisha will go to polls in the seventh (and the last) phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. The state is voting in four phases from May 13 to June 1.
Voting for the seventh phase will take place across 57 constituencies on June 1. Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur are the six constituencies going to polls on June 1. Odisha sends 21 members to the Lok Sabha including Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Of the 21 Odisha Lok Sabha constituencies, five are reserved for Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates and three for Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates.
The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) was the frontrunner in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections winning 12 seats. While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) managed to win 8 seats, the Congress put up a dismal show settling for just one seat.
These are the key constituencies of Odisha to watch out for in Phase 7 of the Lok Sabha elections:
Balasore: Currently represented by BJP's Pratap Chandra Sarangi, Balasore is a general category seat which is set for a triangular contest. The saffron party has once again fielded Sarangi from Balaosore against BJD's Lekhashree Samantsinghar and Congress' Srikant Kumar Jena. Samantsinghar, who served as the BJP Odisha unit vice-president, quit the party in April 2024 and joined the Naveen Patnaik-led party. In 2019, Sarangi had defeated Rabindra Kumar Jena by a margin of nearly 13,000 votes. While Rabindra Jena had emerged victorious in 2014, Srikant Jena won the seat in 2009 as a Congress candidate. Established in 1952, Balasore comprises seven assembly segments - Badasahi, Jaleswar, Bhograi, Basta, Balasore, Remuna and Nilgiri.
Bhadrak: The BJD first secured the Bhadrak Lok Sabha seat in 1998 and since then has continued its winning streak. Former Union minister Arjun Charan Sethi represented the Bhadrak seat a record eight times - 1971 and 1980 as a Congress candidate, 1991 as a Janata Dal candidate and 1998-2014 as a BJD candidate. The Naveen Patnaik-led party has fielded Manju Lata Mandal, who emerged victorious from the seat in 2019. While the Congress nominated Anant Prasad Sethi from Bhadrak, the BJP has once again fielded Avimanyu Sethi. Bhadrak Lok Sabha seat is reserved for candidates belonging to the Scheduled Castes (SC).
Jajpur: Another Lok Sabha constituency of Odisha which is reserved for the Scheduled Castes is Jajpur. Established in 1952, the seat is currently represented by BJD's Sarmistha Sethi. The Naveen Patnaik-led party has dominated the Jajpur seat since 1999 when BJD first secured it. The party has once again fielded Sethi, who had defeated BJP leader Amiya Kanta Mallick by a margin of over 1 lakh votes in 2019. The BJP is yet to taste success in Jajpur. Anadi Charan Das represented the seat five times, thrice (1971, 1980 & 1984) on Congress ticket and twice (1989 & 1991) as a Janata Dal candidate.
Kendrapara: One of 21 Lok Sabha constituencies of Odisha, Kendrapara comprises seven assembly segments - Salipur, Mahanga, Patkura, Kendrapara, Aul, Rajanagar and Mahakalapada. In 2019 Lok Sabha elections, actor-turned-politician Anubhav Mohanty defeated BJP leader Baijayant Panda by a margin of over 1.81 lakh votes. Mohanty quit the BJD in April 2024 and joined the saffron party. For the June 1 election, the Naveen Patnaik-led party has fielded Anshuman Mohanty against BJP's Baijayant Panda. The Congress, which won the first election in Kendrapara in 1951, has nominated Sidharth Swarup Das.
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