Bhubaneswar: A day after resigning from the Bharatiya Janata Party, senior leader Subhas Chouhan Wednesday joined the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD).
Chief Minister and BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik welcomed Chouhan and suggested that his joining the BJD will further strengthen the party.
“I am glad that a senior leader of western Odisha has joined hands with us. I welcome Sri Chouhan and his joining will further strengthen our party,” Patnaik said.
“In the ‘Dharma Yudh’ (battle for justice), I took the side of Naveen Patnaik. He is like epic Mahabharat’s legendary character Yudhisthira while Dharemendra Pradhan is akin to Duryodhan,” said Chouhan, who severed his 30-year-old relationship with the saffron party.
Chouhan, who was denied a BJP nomination to contest from Baragarh Lok Sabha seat, was appointed as the BJP’s state vice-president four days ago.
Replying to reporters’ questions, Chouhan said he would not contest elections in 2019 and has put no condition before joining the BJD.
“I have worked for the people for more than 30 years and will continue to do so in the coming days. My fight against injustice will also continue,’’ Chouhan asserted.
He, however, clarified that his association with RSS will continue for days to come. He was also the national convenor of Bajrang Dal.
Chouhan was upset with the BJP for ignoring him and nominating Suresh Pujari for the Bargarh Lok Sabha seat. In the 2014 Lok Sabha election, Chouhan had lost the Bargarh seat to BJD’s Prabhas Singh by a margin of 11,178 votes.
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