Prithvi Ballabh Patnaik unlikely to contest Election: Niranjan Patnaik

Bhubaneswar: Prithvi Ballabh Patnaik, son of late Odisha Chief Minister Janaki Ballabh (JB)  Patnaik will not be fielded from Begunia Assembly seat as he is unwilling to contest the election, informed Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Niranjan Patnaik on Wednesday.

Speaking to the reporters, the OPCC chief said that Prithvi is not interested to fight the election and party will soon decide on further steps to be taken in this regard. However, Prithvi was not available for his statement over the latest development.

It is worthwhile to mention here that Prithvi’s name was found in the list of the candidates of Central Election Committee (CEC) of All India Congress Committee (AICC) which was released today. Prithvi was picked up by the grand old party as the candidate for Begunia Assembly seat.

Earlier, Prithvi had expressed his willingness to make his political debut in the 2019 elections.  However, he had not made it clear which party and constituency he would contest from.