<p>The Congress has decided to field Subhashree Panda as its candidate in Ranpur Assembly constituency in coastal Nayagarh district during the ensuing Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Odisha.</p>.<p class="CrossHead"><strong>So what's unique about Subhashree?</strong></p>.<p>Subhashree alias Mili is the wife of state’s most wanted Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda, who is currently behind bars after his arrest five years back.</p>.<p class="CrossHead"><strong>Who is Sabyasachi Panda?</strong></p>.<p>Sabyasachi, who had a reward of Rs five lakh on his head, was involved in several high profiles Maoist-related violence in Odisha including the 2012 kidnapping of two Italian nationals in Kandhamal district.</p>.<p>Though subsequently they were released, the incident had triggered a sensation both inside and outside India.</p>.<p>He was also reportedly involved in the 2008 killing of Hindu religious leader Swami Nischalananda Saraswati.</p>.<p>This had led to Hindu-Christian riots in Kandhamal.</p>.<p>In July 2014, the state police managed to nab him from his secret hideout in Berhampur town in southern Odisha's Ganjam district, where he was hiding by changing his identity.</p>.<p class="CrossHead"><strong>2-year jail</strong></p>.<p>Subhashree too was once under police scrutiny and had spent almost two years behind the bars for her alleged Maoist links.</p>.<p>After getting the Congress nomination, Subhashree thanked AICC president Rahul Gandhi, PCC president Niranjan Patnaik and PCC acting president Chiranajib Biswal for reposing faith in her.</p>.<p>“If elected my first priority will be to carry forward the development work in Ranpur, which still remains very backward. I am sure the Congress will do well in the polls”, she said adding that she has been involved in social works in the area for a long time.</p>.<p>This is not the first time Subhashree will be fighting Assembly polls.</p>.<p>She had contested the 2014 elections from the same constituency on the ticket of Ama Odisha Party, a now-defunct regional outfit launched by Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, currently a senior BJD member.</p>.<p>She nevertheless had a poor outing, coming fifth position behind the BJD, the BJP, the Congress and the CPM.</p>.<p>Subhashree’s father-in-law Ram Panda was a mainstream politician and was a three-time MLA from Ranpur.</p>.<p>The Congress has so far declared its candidates for 8 out of 21 Lok Sabha seats and 90 out of 147 Assembly constituencies in the state.</p>
<p>The Congress has decided to field Subhashree Panda as its candidate in Ranpur Assembly constituency in coastal Nayagarh district during the ensuing Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Odisha.</p>.<p class="CrossHead"><strong>So what's unique about Subhashree?</strong></p>.<p>Subhashree alias Mili is the wife of state’s most wanted Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda, who is currently behind bars after his arrest five years back.</p>.<p class="CrossHead"><strong>Who is Sabyasachi Panda?</strong></p>.<p>Sabyasachi, who had a reward of Rs five lakh on his head, was involved in several high profiles Maoist-related violence in Odisha including the 2012 kidnapping of two Italian nationals in Kandhamal district.</p>.<p>Though subsequently they were released, the incident had triggered a sensation both inside and outside India.</p>.<p>He was also reportedly involved in the 2008 killing of Hindu religious leader Swami Nischalananda Saraswati.</p>.<p>This had led to Hindu-Christian riots in Kandhamal.</p>.<p>In July 2014, the state police managed to nab him from his secret hideout in Berhampur town in southern Odisha's Ganjam district, where he was hiding by changing his identity.</p>.<p class="CrossHead"><strong>2-year jail</strong></p>.<p>Subhashree too was once under police scrutiny and had spent almost two years behind the bars for her alleged Maoist links.</p>.<p>After getting the Congress nomination, Subhashree thanked AICC president Rahul Gandhi, PCC president Niranjan Patnaik and PCC acting president Chiranajib Biswal for reposing faith in her.</p>.<p>“If elected my first priority will be to carry forward the development work in Ranpur, which still remains very backward. I am sure the Congress will do well in the polls”, she said adding that she has been involved in social works in the area for a long time.</p>.<p>This is not the first time Subhashree will be fighting Assembly polls.</p>.<p>She had contested the 2014 elections from the same constituency on the ticket of Ama Odisha Party, a now-defunct regional outfit launched by Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, currently a senior BJD member.</p>.<p>She nevertheless had a poor outing, coming fifth position behind the BJD, the BJP, the Congress and the CPM.</p>.<p>Subhashree’s father-in-law Ram Panda was a mainstream politician and was a three-time MLA from Ranpur.</p>.<p>The Congress has so far declared its candidates for 8 out of 21 Lok Sabha seats and 90 out of 147 Assembly constituencies in the state.</p>
