Will Lekhashree stop Pratap Sarangi from winning a second consecutive term as Balasore MP?

Bhubaneswar: Ending all speculation, the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has officially declared Lekhasri Samantsinghar as its contender for the Balasore Lok Sabha constituency in the upcoming elections. So, As per out earlier assumption, it will be BJD’s Lekhashree vs BJP’s Pratap Sarangi in the Lok Sabha constituency.

Lekhasri’s selection comes as a direct result of her resignation from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to join the BJD. This move marks a continuation of BJD’s commitment to promoting female representation, as Lekhasri becomes one of the many women candidates fielded by the party, constituting 33 percent of its Lok Sabha nominees—a tradition initiated in 2019. BJD President and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik unveiled her candidacy via a video message, while also announcing the party’s nominees for nine MLA positions. Among them, the party has retained five sitting MLAs and introduced a surprise candidate in Sambalpur.

Pratap Sarangi had won the Balasore Lok Sabha seat by a narrow margin of 12,956 votes in 2019. So here the question arrises- Can Dr Lekhashree stop Sri Sarangi from winning a second consecutive term as Balasore MP?