Bhubaneshwar: The ruling Biju Janta Dal (BJD) has released the list of its Rajya Sabha candidates.

The list has the names of three candidates. Out of these three candidates, two are serving ministers in Naveen patnaik govt while one candidate is a former state minister.

The two serving ministers are – Panchayati Raj minister Kalpataru Das and Textile and Hand-loom minister Sarojini Hembram.

The third candidate is the former minister Anang Uday Singhdeo.This time Odisha will be electing four RS members from the state.

The Loksatta party has unveiled its strategy for the 2014 elections by declaring its first list of candidates and announcing a novel “suggest your candidate” drive.

A first of its kind in the country, this call to action cements Loksatta’s position as a party that is grounded in representative democracy.

"In contrast to other traditional parties that auction off tickets to the highest bidder, Loksatta truly walks the talk of a citizen-centric democracy by offering voters the opportunity to participate in identifying potential candidates to represent them in the legislature,” Loksatta chief Jayaprakash Narayana said.

At a press conference at party headquarters here, he announced the first list of candidates. “We have the guts to announce the first list of candidates. We challenge the other parties to do the same and match our candidates in quality and commitment.

We challenge them to put forth their candidates for public scrutiny and service,” he added.

Source: Deccan Herald