Lok Sabha 2019 constituency: Odisha’s Sambalpur is a BJD bastion

Sambalpur will witness polling on April 23 and counting of votes will take place on May 23.

Sambalpur is one of the 21 parliamentary constituencies in Odisha and has been held by the Biju Janata Dal mostly since 1998.

Ghaziabad India - March 14, 2019: A view of an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) and Voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT), at DM office, in Ghaziabad, India, on Thursday, March 14, 2019. The members of the federation of association of apartment owners will request contesting candidates to give affidavits which will include time line of the works which the candidate promises in their area.(Sakib Ali / Hindustan Times)

The BJD’s Nagendra Kumar Pradhan is the sitting member of Parliament from Sambalpur and had defeated Suresh Pujari of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2014 Lok Sabha election. The Congress’ Amarnath Pradhan had won the 2009 general election ending the three-time winning streak of the BJD’s Prasanna Acharya.

The ruling party in the state has dropped Nagendra Kumar Pradhan and chosen former works secretary Nalinikanta Pradhan, who recently joined the BJD after taking voluntary retirement, for Sambalpur Lok Sabha constituency. The BJP has fielded sitting MLA Nitesh Ganga Deb from Sambalpur Lok Sabha seat.

READ: All about Lok Sabha elections 2019

Sambalpur will witness polling on April 23 and counting of votes will take place on May 23.

Here are some facts about the Sambalpur Lok Sabha seat:

State: Odisha

Name of the Lok Sabha constituency: Sambalpur

Polling date: April 23

2019 candidates: Nalinikanta Pradhan (BJD), Nitesh Ganga Deb (BJP), Sarat Patnaik (Congress)

Sitting MP, party: Nagendra Kumar Pradhan, BJD

Winning margin in 2014: 984,697

Runner up name, party: Suresh Pujari, BJP

Number of voters in 2014: 984,309

Percentage of votes polled in 2014: 75.89%

Number of women voters in 2014: 628,062

Number of polling booths in 2014: 1,667