The ruling Biju Janata Dal in Odisha on Wednesday announced the first list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha and assembly polls by opting to allot tickets to new faces and replace those who contested in the 2019 parliamentary polls.

The announcement comes four days after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) declared its candidates for 18 of the 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha.

Of the 21 LS seats, candidates of nine constituencies, including the politically significant Sambalpur, Bhubaneswar and Kendrapara, were announced by the regional party.

The BJD’s strategy, as far as the assembly seats, is in sharp contrast to the selection of candidates for LS seats with a sizable chunk of old faces re-nominated to fight the polls. The state accounts for 147 seats in the assembly, with the party declaring nominees for 71 seats.

Notably, the BJP is yet to come out with its list of assembly candidates. The Congress, maintaining ‘wait and watch’ of the BJP and BJD’s moves, has also not announced its candidates for the twin polls.

The Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has fielded Pranab Prakash Das from Sambalpur, Dilip Tirkey from Sundargarh, Sudam Marndi from Mayurbhanj, Anshuman Mohanty from Kendrapara, Pradeep Majhi from Nabarangpur, Manmath Routray from Bhubaneswar, Kausalaya Hikaka from Koraput, Ranjita Sahoo from Aska, and Lambodar Nial from Kalahandi Lok Sabha constituencies.

The party has also fielded organizational secretary and Jajpur MLA of the outgoing Assembly, Pranab Prakash Das from Sambalpur LS seat to lock horns with BJP candidate and Union minister Drarmemdra Pradhan from the prestigious seat in western Odisha.

The party has nominated Manmath Routray, a political greenhorn and son of veteran Congress leader Suresh Routray, from Bhubaneswar LS seat. The BJP has re-nominated Aparajita Sarangi as its candidate for the seat. Interestingly, hours after Routray joined the party on Wednesday, the BJD nominated him for the LS ticket.

Dilip Tirkey, former captain of the Indian hockey team and Rajya Sabha member, is fielded by the regional party from Sundargarh LS seat to fight the electoral battle against BJP heavyweight and former Union minister Jual Oram.