The existing MLA from Champua, Jitu Patnaik, who won the election by a margin of 145 votes and later joined the BJD, was denied a ticket this time. Instead, the party fielded Odia film star Tatwa Prakash Satpathy, aka, Popu Pom Pom from the seat. Twelve candidates are running for this seat.

He will lock horns with Congress’s Khetra Mohan Mahanta and BJP’s Girish Chandra Mahanta. In Soro, Congress’s sitting MLA Surendra Prasad Paramanik had won by a margin of 360 votes but the Congress changed him this time and fielded Mrutunjay Jena from the seat. Six candidates are contesting from this constituency including BJD’s Parshuram Dhada and BJP’s Rakesh Kumar Mallick.

The Congress has also changed the sitting MLA from Mohana, Chakradhara Paika, who had won the election by a margin of 917 votes, replacing him with Dasarathi Gamang. The other two main contenders are BJD’s Basanti Mallick and BJP’s Bharat Paika. Nine candidates are in the fray here.

The Congress also replaced sitting MLA from Chitrakonda Mamata Madhi, who won the election by a margin of 260 votes with Sunadhar Kakari. However, in Bissam Cuttack, the party retained sitting MLA Damburdhar Ullka, who had won the polls by a margin of only 349 votes.

To overcome anti-incumbency factor, the ruling BJD has denied tickets to 35 MLAs. “Besides loyalty, the party has considered the winning capability of a candidate before giving party tickets,” said BJD vice-president Kalpataru Das.