BHUBANESWAR: After holding key posts in BJP for 10 years, the party’s state unit vice-president Lekhashree Samantsinghar on Sunday joined BJD here hours after resigning from the saffron outfit.
As has been the trend in BJD, she is expected to be announced as the party’s candidate for Balasore Lok Sabha seat soon. If it materialises, she will be the seventh candidate to be fielded by the regional party after their defection from rivals like BJP and Congress.
Besides, Lekhashree’s candidature will also serve another purpose for BJD. The regional outfit had started the practice of fielding women candidates in one-third of Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 elections. If fielded, she will be the seventh woman Lok Sabha candidate to be nominated by the regional outfit for the ensuing elections, making up the numbers.
Lekhashree’s joining BJD is a homecoming for her. She had quit BJD and joined BJP in 2013 and held senior positions in the state unit. In her resignation letter to state president Manmohan Samal, Lekhashree said, “I have given my sweat and blood to the BJP for the last 10 years. However, despite all the sincerity and hard work, I could not earn the trust of the leadership. I feel there is nothing left for me to do here and my desire to serve the people of Odisha is being hampered.”
She thanked Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and the BJD leadership for accepting her with an open heart. She said she was inspired by the people-oriented work of the chief minister and the state government. Later, Lekhashree met the chief minister and 5T chairman VK Pandian at Naveen Niwas.
Senior Congress leader and former Ganeswar Behera who quit the grand old party recently also joined BJD at Sankha Bhawan here. He is expected to be fielded from Kendrapara Assembly seat. Behera thanked the chief minister and 5T chairman after joining the BJD and announced that he will work for the party and development of Kendrapara.