BHUBANESWAR: A day after quitting the ruling BJD, MLA from Jayadev Assembly constituency and former minister Arabinda Dhali joined the BJP here on Sunday.
Dhali who started his political career from the BJP in the 90s returned to the party after a gap of 15 years. He joined the saffron party along with former BJD MLA Mukunda Sodi in presence of the party’s state unit president Manmohan Samal. Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi, election co-in-charges Vijay Pal Singh Tomar and Lata Usendi and other senior leaders were present.
Sodi, a tribal leader, resigned from primary membership of the BJD on Saturday by sending his resignation letter to party president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Elected to Assembly in 2009 on a BJD ticket, he was denied nomination by the ruling party in the 2014 election. He, however, had got the BJD ticket in 2019 but came third.
Describing his return to the BJP as homecoming, Dhali said the BJD governance model is more suitable for the state. While there is no internal democracy in the regional party, he said many leaders are feeling suffocated and there is no respect for seniors in the party.
Former IAS officer and eminent writer Hrusikesh Panda, Air Marshal (Retd) Dilip Kumar Patnaik and former joint secretary Rajya Sabha Choudhury Ramakanta Das also joined the BJP. Zilla Parishad member and a popular leader in Digapahandi Assembly segment Bipin Chandra Pradhan also joined the BJP along with his supporters.