Another expelled BJD leader to join BJP

Bhubaneswar: After Gopalpur MLA Pradeep Panigrahi and Chilika MLA Prashant Jagdev, another expelled BJD leader, Rajendra Das, will be joining the BJP on March 4, sources said on Saturday.

The former MLA had contested Dhamnagar byelection as a rebel candidate after BJD fielded Tihidi block chairperson Abanti Das from the seat. After prolonged dithering, the rebel leader was finally shown the door by BJD a fortnight before the bypoll on November, 2022. The defeat in this bypoll, the first for the ruling BJD since 2019, also saw the party’s voting percentage drop from 45% to 43% as Rajendra polled 8,153 votes, damaging Abanti Das’s chances of securing victory for Naveen’s party.

Rajendra had won Dhamnagar on a BJD ticket in 2009. The party, however, denied him a ticket in 2014. Though he was again given a ticket in 2019, some BJD leaders allegedly conspired against him, resulting in his defeat. He was a strong aspirant for BJD ticket for the Dhamnagar byelection.

The ruling BJD also saw a setback this morning after sitting Jayadev MLA Arabinda Dhali informed the media about having resigned from the primary membership of the party. He further said that he will join the BJP on March 3.

Gopalpur MLA Pradeep Panigrahi had joined the saffron party on February 21 and Chilika MLA Prashant Jagdev on February 29. These developments are seen a major jolt to the ruling BJD ahead of the Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections in April.