Bhubaneswar: Actor turned politician and Lok Sabha MP from Odisha’s Kendrapara, Anubhav Mohanty — who resigned from the primary membership of BJD Saturday — joined the BJP Monday.
Anubhav, who was elected to Rajya Sabha from Odisha as a BJD candidate in 2014 and also elected to Lok Sabha from Kendrapara Lok Sabha seat in 2019, joined the BJP at the party’s headquarters in Delhi.
In another development in the BJD, Senior leader and former Chairperson of the Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (OSCPCR), Sandhyabati Pradhan, also resigned from the primary membership of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Monday.
Earlier, six-time Lok Sabha MP from Cuttack and also the founding member of BJD, Bhartruhari Mahatab, resigned from the primary membership of the party and joined the BJP. Anubhav has campaigned for BJD during both the 2014 and 2019 general elections in the state.
In his resignation letter to Party President Naveen Patnaik, Anubhav stated, “Despite my unwavering loyalty and deep admiration for you sir, whom I have regarded as a fatherly figure, I’ve been grappling with undisclosed concerns that have made me feel suffocated over the past four years.”
Besides Anubhav, three other Odia movie stars such as former BJD Lok Sabha MP Sidhant Mohapatra, former BJD MLA Akash Dasnayak and BJD leader Arindam Ray resigned from the party and joined the BJP.
These actor-turned-politicians have similar allegations that they were being ignored in the party and questioned the functioning of the party affairs.
In a major setback to the ruling BJD in Odisha, over 15 leaders who were elected to both Lok Sabha and Assembly as BJD candidates in the past had so far resigned from the party during the last fortnight and joined the BJP.
They included two sitting MLAs, Pradeep Panigrahi and Prashant Jagadev, who were expelled from the party for indulging in anti-party activities.
UNI