Bhubaneswar, Apr 4 (IANS): The Congress in Odisha is likely to declare the list of candidates for the remaining 98 Assembly and 13 Lok Sabha constituencies of the state by the second week of April.

"Preparations for the declaration of candidates for the second phase are on, and the exercise will be completed within 4-5 days. We are also trying to release the complete list of candidates for the elections by the second week of April," Odisha unit Congress president Sarat Pattanaik said on Thursday.

The Congress has so far announced candidates for 49 out of 147 Assembly seats and eight out of the 21 Parliamentary constituencies of the state.

The party had earlier announced to release candidates' names before any other party in the state.

However, the party has not so far declared candidates for most of the Assembly and Lok Sabha seats of the state. The Bharatiya Janata Party has announced candidates for 112 Assembly and 21 Lok Sabha seats.

Meanwhile, the Biju Janata Dal named its candidates for 99 Assembly and 20 Lok Sabha seats in the state.