Bhubaneswar: Ahead of the simultaneous Odisha Assembly and Lok Sabha polls, former minister and four-time BJD legislator Debasis Nayak, and ex-Congress MLA Nihar Ranjan Mohananda Sunday joined the BJP.
They were inducted into the BJP in the presence of party state president Manmohan Samal, former president Samir Mohanty and other senior leaders.
Nayak, speaking on the occasion, said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has become a strong country.
“Naveen Patnaik is not ruling Odisha, someone else is. Those who have funded the BJD and made Patnaik the CM are now being neglected in the party,” he alleged.
Nayak, a four-time MLA from Bari assembly constituency in Jajpur district, submitted his resignation letter to Patnaik on February 20. It was shared with the media earlier in the day.
“With a heavy heart, I am submitting my resignation herewith with immediate effect. Thank you very much for giving me an opportunity to serve the people of Odisha as well as the party,” Nayak said in his resignation letter.
However, he did not mention the reason for his resignation.
Nayak was first elected from Bari-Derabisi (now Bari) seat in 2000 and re-elected three more times in 2004, 2009 and 2014. However, the BJD denied him a ticket in 2019.
He had also served as a minister under Patnaik from 2004 to 2008.
Mahananda, a former Congress MLA from Atabira seat in Bargarh district, had recently quit the grand old party.
PTI
