Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president and Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday filed his nomination papers for the Odisha Assembly election from a second seat — Kantabanji — in Bolangir district in western Odisha.

Beside Naveen, Sambalpur Lok Sabha BJP’s candidate Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, BJD’s Lok Sabha candidate from Puri former Mumbai commissioner of police Arup Patnaik and Aparajita Sarangi, the sitting BJP from Bhubaneswar, filed their nomination papers on Thursday. Pradhan is contesting the election after a gap of 15 years. BJD candidate for Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha Manmath Routray and sitting BJP MP from Sundergarh Jual Oram filed the nomination papers.

On the other hand, Naveen filed the nomination from Kantabanji just two days after filing his nomination from his home turf Hinjili Assembly constituency in Ganjam district, in southern Odisha. Naveen has been representing the Hinjili Assembly constituency since 2000. Naveen was accompanied by his doon school mate and former minister A.U. Singh Deo and his close aide V.K. Pandian and filed the nomination at the sub-collectorrate office Titlagarh in Bolangir.

The move seems to be a well-thought-out strategy to contain the growing influence of the BJP in western Odisha where the party had won all the five Lok Sabha seats in 2019. The Assembly seat is strategically located and connected to the three Lok Sabha seats — Bolangiri, Baragarh and Kalahanadi.

In 2019 also, Naveen had contested from Bijepur Assembly seat in Bargarh district of western Odisha but the move did not yield the desired results in the Lok Sabha polls with BJP winning all the five seats — Bargarh, Sundergarh, Bolangir, Sambalpur and Kalahandi — at stake. However, the regional party emerged victorious in 22 out of 35 Assembly seats in the region. However, Naveen’s presence in the fray could change political equations not only in the Assembly constituency but in the entire western Odisha belt.

Kantabanji seat is currently held by Congress veteran Santosh Singh Saluja who is once again the party candidate from the constituency. The BJD was crushed by the Congress in 2019. A big fight is expected between Naveen and the Congress candidate Saluja, a popular leader.

Naveen released the final list of candidates for the Assembly poll. He replaced the BJD’s candidate Arundhati Devi from the Deogarh Assembly seat, with a new candidate, Romancha Ranjan Biswal.

Arundhati, wife of outgoing BJP MP from Sambalpur, Nitesh Ganga Deb, joined the BJD recently and got the ticket. However, following resentment, the party decided to withdraw the ticket.