Finance
In a significant development, Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) supremo Naveen Patnaik will now contest the upcoming Assembly elections in the state from two constituencies. Naveen Patnaik will now contest for the Kantabanji Assembly seat in the Bolangir district in addition to his customary Hinjili Assembly seat.
In the 2019 Assembly elections, the Chief Minister contested from two constituencies, Hinjili and Bijepur. Later, he forfeited the seat in Bijepur, which Rita Sahu won in the next by-election.
The Chief Minister added that the BJD agreed on nine candidates for the Assembly elections, switching the seats of two of them, after a meeting of the top leadership on Wednesday, when the party unveiled its fifth list of candidates.
