Overview
- Patnaik formally entered the BJP at the party’s state headquarters in Bhubaneswar in a ceremony attended by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, state president Manmohan Samal and in-charge Vijaypal Singh Tomar.
- He had completed his Rajya Sabha term and was overseeing the BJD’s IT cell prior to switching parties.
- The timing coincided with BJD chief Naveen Patnaik campaigning in Nuapada, where a by-election is on the horizon.
- Majhi said Patnaik had left an atmosphere of “political suffocation” in the BJD, while Patnaik cited service to the nation and admiration for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.
- Reports indicate former MLA Prakash Chandra Behera and expelled leader Srimayee Mishra are in talks to join the BJP, though their inductions remain unconfirmed.