BHUBANESWAR : Expelled Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MLA Prasant Jagdev on Thursday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party here in presence of Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi, Odisha election co-in-charge Lata Usendi and other party leaders.
Jagdev is the third leader from the regional party after Gopalpur MLA Pradeep Panigrahi and former MLA from Bari Debasis Nayak to join the BJP in the last 10 days. He is stated to have joined the BJP after being assured of nomination from Begunia Assembly seat from where he was elected in 2014. Senior BJP leader Prithiviraj Harichandan, son of Chhattisgarh Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan, is eyeing for party ticket for Chilika Assembly constituency, which he lost to Jagdev in 2019.
Ironically, Jagdev was expelled from BJD after he assaulted a BJP leader Niranjan Sethi near Balugaon block office in September 2021. He was arrested after a massive protest by BJP workers.
Jagdev had a brush with law on numerous occasions and several criminal cases, including serious charges, pending against him. He was arrested in March 2022 for allegedly ploughing his SUV into a crowd of mostly BJP supporters outside Banapur block office in Khurda district in the presence of local police. Several people were injured in the incident.
Known for his strong-arm politics, the two--time MLA is a political fighter. Having entered electoral politics in 2004 on a BJD ticket, he had given a tough fight to former chief minister Janaki Ballav Patnaik from Begunia. He lost to the Congress veteran by a narrow margin of 2,000 votes.
After joining BJP, Jagdev said he was a strong admirer of Prime Minister Narendra Modi even when he was in the BJD.
“I am happy and proud to be part of BJP which is now the only alternative party in Odisha. There is a shadow government in the state. I am sure the BJP will form the next government in the state as people have absolute faith on ‘Modi guarantee," he added.
Later in the day, former NCP MLA from Dhenkanal Nabin Nanda and former BJD MLA from Sarakana Bhadav Hansda also joined the BJP.
BJD slams BJP for taking in the Chilika MLA
The BJD has taken strong exception to BJP taking in expelled leader Prashant Jagdev on Thursday. Addressing mediapersons here, BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty alleged Jagdev was expelled from the party after he ran over BJP workers in an inebriated state during the panchayat elections.
The state BJP leaders had then lashed out at the ruling BJD for allegedly promoting him, he said. Mohanty said what has changed now that the same expelled MLA who had run over BJP workers was welcomed to the party