Bhubaneswar: BJD MLA Premananda Nayak and two former legislators Monday joined the BJP ahead of simultaneous Lok Sabha and Odisha Assembly polls.
Former BJD MLA from Dhamnagar Rajendra Das and ex-Congress legislator from Bhadrak Naren Palei crossed over to the saffron camp.
They joined the BJP in the presence of the party’s state president Manmohan Samal, former state president Samir Mohanty and other senior leaders.
Nayak, the MLA from Telkoi in Keonjhar district and former state minister, had quit the BJD a few days ago but chose to continue with the MLA position, while Das was expelled from the party during the Dhamnagar bypoll in 2022.
Das was accused of being involved in anti-party activities after he was denied a BJD ticket in the 2022 bypoll.
Palei claimed that he joined the BJP as he was inspired by the development work under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The three leaders crossed over to the BJP, a day after BJD’s sitting MLA Arabinda Dhali, ex-MLA Mukunda Sodi and former bureaucrat Hrusikesh Panda joined the saffron camp.
Last week, MLAs Pradeep Panigrahy and Prashant Jagdev, who were expelled from the BJD, and former minister Debasish Nayak had also joined the BJP.
PTI