Bhubaneswar: Ahead of twin elections to State Legislative Assembly and Lok Sabha, former minister and four-time BJD MLA Debasis Nayak today joined the BJP.
Nayak formally joined the BJP here in presence of state president Manmohan Samal, former president Samir Mohanty and other senior leaders.
Inspired by the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shri Nayak joined the BJP, he said.
Shri Nayak, a four time MLA from Bari Assembly constituency in Jajpur district, has submitted his resignation letter to BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Within a few hours after sharing the resignation letter with the media, the senior leader from Jajpur district joined the saffron camp.
“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 party. Once again thank you sir,” Shri Nayak said in his resignation letter. However, he has not mentioned the reason behind his resignation.
Debasis was first elected to the state Assembly from Bari seat in 2000 and was re-elected thrice from the same Assembly segment in 2004, 2009 and 2014. The BJD denied him a party ticket in 2019. He also served as a Minister in Naveen Patnaik’s Council Of Ministers during 2004 to 2008.
Similarly, former Attabira MLA Nihar Ranjan Mohananda, who recently resigned from Congress, also joined the BJP along with his supporters.
It seems that the BJP is in mission mode to strengthen its base in different districts ahead of the election.
