Bhubaneswar: Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday said that winnability will be the criterion to determine selection of BJD candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the State.
He said that the party will contest the elections on its own without going for alliance with any party.
The regional party will field candidates in the all the 147 Assembly seats and 21 Lok Sabha constituencies in the State. It presently has 118 MLAs in the 147-strength Assembly and 20 MPs in the Lok Sabha. Odisha has 21 LS segments.
When asked by media persons about the criteria for distribution of tickets as there are a plenty of aspirants in the party, Patnaik said, “Winnability will be the criteria.”
While replying to a question on any possible alliance, Patnaik said, “We will fight on our own.”
Polling for the 21 Lok Sabha seats and 147 Assembly constituencies will be held in four phases on April 11, 18, 23 and 29 in the State.
On Monday, Patnaik claimed that his regional party will perform “very well” in the Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections.
