BARGARH : A day after BJP candidate for Bijepur by-election Ashok Panigrahi filed his nomination accompanied by leaders and thousands of BJP workers, Barpali BJP Town president Ajit Das joined the BJD. Das is the third leader after district BJP president Narayan Sahu and State Executive Member of BJP SC Morcha Pramod Chhatar to join the BJD. Like Chhatar, Das has also attributed his quitting the BJP to lack of inner party democracy and making Panigrahi candidate of the party when there are other candidates who have toiled hard for the BJP.
Announcing this in the presence of BJD leaders Prasanna Acharya, Debi Mishra and Sanjay Dasburma, Das said the BJP leaders are treating the workers as servants and they are a demoralised lot. Panigrahi, who has been repeatedly rejected by the people, has been nominated by the BJP, Das added. He said the workers have no say in the BJP and he joined the BJD inspired by the work being done for the people by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Acharya said the election is a mere formality and BJD will win the by-poll.