Bhubaneswar, March 26: Chief minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik today formally launched the poll campaign from his home turf Hinjili Assembly constituency even as hectic political activities were witnessed in the coastal Odisha as the filing of nomination papers for second phase ended today.

Naveen said: “I expect the BJD to do extremely well in the forthcoming polls.” While Naveen was busy in Ganjam on a road show, Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren rushed to Mayurbhanj to save the JMM’s bastion in the district.

The JMM suffered a jolt last week when its state unit president Sudam Marandi and general secretary Bhada Hansda joined the BJD. Marandi, who had contested the Mayurbanj Lok Sabha seat last time as a JMM nominee, has been fielded by the BJD. Soren, who is trying to keep his party’s support base in the area intact, today fielded candidates for the Mayurbhanj Lok Sabha and eight other Assembly seats.

The Congress today announced its nominees for 25 Assembly seats.

Arun Dey, who had joined the BJD last week and quit the party yesterday, today filed nomination papers as a Congress candidate for the Balasore Assembly seat. Congress campaign committee chairman Srikant Jena is seeking re-election from this seat.

BJD leader and former law minister Raghunath Mohanty, who was denied a party ticket after he was entangled in a dowry torture case lodged by his daughter-in-law Barsa Swony Chaudhury, today withdrew from the contest. He had filed his nomination as an Independent candidate.

In Kendrapara, BJP fielded Bijoy Mohapatra from Mahakalapada Assembly seat. Kharavela Swain, who had earlier filed the nomination papers from Balasore Lok Sabha seat, today filed his papers from Cuttack Lok Sabha seat as an Ama Odisha candidate.

Law minister Maheswar Mohanty, who was hospitalised after a murderous attack on him on February 21, today filed his nomination papers from Puri seat. Mohanty will face the Congress’s Uma Ballav Rath.

Others, who filed their papers today, included BJD vice-president and health minister Damodar Rout (Paradip), steel and mines minister Rajanikant Singh (Angul) former minister Bed Prakash Agrawal (Patkura), actor-turned-politician Bijoy Mohanty (Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha), former minister Samir Dey (Cuttack) and BJD MP Baijayant Panda (Kendrapara Lok Sabha).

Two Odia cine stars, Akash Das Nayak and Papu Pom Pom, who had joined the BJD recently, also filed their papers from Korei Assembly segment in Jajpur district and Champua Assembly segment in Keojhar district, respectively.