BHUBANESWAR : BJD MLA from Jaydev and former minister Arabinda Dhali on Saturday resigned from the ruling party and joined BJP from where he started his political career.
A five-time MLA, Dhali said he has sent his resignation letter to BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He, however, did not mention any reason for his quitting the party.
Elected to the Assembly for the first time from Malkangiri in a by-election in 1992 on a BJP ticket, Dhali retained the seat for two consecutive terms. He, however, lost the 2004 election to the Congress. He joined the BJD before the 2009 elections and was elected to the Assembly from Jayadev which he retained in 2019. He was Minister for Cooperation, Textile and Handloom and Commerce and Transport in the Naveen Patnaik government when his party shared power with BJD.
Meanwhile, former Dhamnagar MLA Rajendra Kumar Das is all set to join BJP on March 4, sources in the party said. Elected to the Assembly from Dhamnagar constituency in Bhadrak district on a BJD ticket in 2009, Das was denied a ticket in the 2014 polls. The regional party again gave him a ticket in 2019 but he lost.
An aspirant for Dhamnagar by-election in 2022, Das was again denied a party ticket following which he filed his nomination papers as an independent candidate and lost. Later, he was expelled from the BJD for alleged anti-party activities.
As sitting Dhamnagar MLA Suraj Suryabanshi of BJP is keen to contest the Lok Sabha election from Bhadrak seat, Das is likely to get nomination from the saffron party from the Assembly segment.
Meanwhile, two expelled leaders from BJD, Gopalpur MLA Pradeep Panigrahi and Chilika MLA Prasanta Kumar Jagadev joined the saffron party. They were followed by senior BJD leader and former state minister Debasis Nayak.