KENDRAPARA:Former BJD MLA of Rajnagar Alekha Kumar Jena will join BJP along with his supporters on October 22 in presence of Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan at Pattamundai here.
Jena, who had been elected to the State Assembly in 2009 from Rajnagar on a BJD ticket, resigned from the ruling party last week.“The NDA Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is doing good work in the country for which I decided to join BJP,” Jena said.
District president of BJP Duryodhana Sahoo said Jena’s inclusion will further strengthen the party’s base in Kendrapara.
Jena said he resigned from BJD in the interest of the people of his Assembly segment. “Large number of voters urged me to resign from BJD as the party has neglected Rajnagar,” he said.
Jena had defeated senior Congress leader Nalini Mohanty in 2009 who had been elected uninterruptedly seven times from Rajnagar since 1977.
However, he was not given a party ticket to contest in the Assembly elections in 2014 by the BJD.
Former president of Rajnagar block BJD Kailash Chandra Parida said departure of Jena, who enjoys a strong support base in Rajnagar, will be a setback for the ruling party.