Bhubaneswar, May 2: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) finalized its slate for the Assembly elections by releasing its last three candidates on Thursday, completing the lineup for all 147 Assembly constituencies in the upcoming state elections.

In a surprising twist, the BJD altered its candidate for the Deogarh Assembly seat. BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced Romanch Ranjan Biswal as the party’s nominee for Deogarh, replacing Arundhati Kumari Devi, who was initially selected on April 17.

Biswal, who contested the previous Assembly elections from Deogarh but lost to Bharatiya Janata Party's Subash Chandra Panigrahi by approximately 7,000 votes, steps in for Devi. Notably, Devi's husband, Nitesh Gang Dev, is a senior BJP figure and the incumbent MP of the Sambalpur Lok Sabha seat, with ties to the royal family of Bamra in Sambalpur district.

Despite local media speculation fueled by a post on Gang Dev's Facebook account suggesting his resignation from the BJP, he refuted the claims, citing a hacking incident concerning his social media profile.

In addition to the Deogarh switch, the ruling party announced Sandhya Rani Das as its candidate for the Korei Assembly seat in Jajpur district, replacing sitting MLA Ashok Kumar Bal. Sandhya Rani, wife of former Janata Dal stalwart Ashok Das and mother of BJD heavyweight Pranab Prakash Das, gears up for the electoral challenge.

Meanwhile, Sukanta Kumar Nayak retains the BJD nomination for the Nilgiri Assembly constituency in Balasore district. Additionally, Sabitri Pradhan steps in for expelled leader and entrepreneur Soumya Ranjan Patnaik in the Khandapada Assembly seat.

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