Odisha: Former BJD minister, Congress MLA join BJP

Bhubaneswar: Hours after resigning from BJD, senior leader and former minister Debasis Nayak joined the BJP in the presence of state unit president Manmohan Samal here on Sunday.

Nayak, a four-time MLA from Bari, said the BJD is no longer the party it used to be and is now under the control of an outsider. There is no internal democracy in a party that sacrifices its ideology and principles.
He said that BJD is now relying more on people coming from other parties as it has lost confidence in winning the next elections. “The people of the state have made up their mind to remove the autocratic government and bring BJP to power. The double engine government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will bring prosperity to the state,” Nayak said.

Similarly, former Congress MLA from Attabira Nihar Ranjan Mahananda, who recently resigned from the grand old party, joined the saffron party along with his supporters.
Former state general secretary of Biju Mahila Janata Dal Jyotsnarani Jena and her supporters, along with several Congress leaders from Lanjigarh in Kalahandi district and many others also joined the BJP.
Welcoming the leaders to the BJP, Samal said the ‘Modi Guarantee’ and the Prime Minister’s vision of a developed India are attracting BJD and Congress leaders as they have realized that there is no alternative to his leadership in the country.