Dikhyaa Mohanty 
The Congress in Odisha is likely to declare the list of candidates for the remaining 98 Assembly and 13 Lok Sabha constituencies of the state by the second week of April. “Preparations for the declaration of candidates for the second phase are on, and the exercise will be completed within 4-5 days. We are also trying to release the complete list of candidates for the elections by the second week of April,” Odisha unit Congress president Sarat Pattanaik said on Thursday.
Thus far, the Congress has declared candidates for eight of the state’s twenty-one parliamentary constituencies and 49 of the 147 Assembly seats. The party has previously declared that it will disclose the identities of its candidates before any other party in the state.
Nonetheless, the party has not yet announced candidates for the majority of the state’s Assembly and Lok Sabha seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party has declared its nominees for 21 Lok Sabha seats and 112 Assembly seats. In the meantime, the Biju Janata Dal announced its nominees for the state’s 20 Lok Sabha and 99 Assembly seats.
