A Day After Quitting BJD, Ex-Odisha MLA Debashish Samantaray Joins BJP

(MENAFN- IANS) Bhubaneswar, May 26 (IANS) A day after tendering his resignation from the party, former senior Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Debashish Samantaray on Tuesday joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during a programme held at the party headquarters in New Delhi.

Samantaray joined in the presence of Odisha BJP president Manmohan Samal, the party's National General Secretary Arun Singh, Odisha In-charge Vijay Pal Singh Tomar and other leaders.

After joining the party, Samantaray thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving him the opportunity to be part of the BJP and contribute towards fulfilling his vision of a 'Viksit Bharat'.

“Today, I am joining the BJP, inspired by the work and personality of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I hope that the leaders of the BJP and my friends in the party will cooperate with me. In the coming days, I have a lot of work to do for the BJP in Odisha. I will try to strengthen the party in Odisha,” said Samantaray.

Welcoming him to the party, Samal said that the three-time MLA Samantaray's joining will strengthen the party organisation in the state, especially with his massive influence in the undivided Cuttack district.

The Odisha BJP chief also stated that Samantaray, a founder member of the Biju Janata Dal, has a long experience in state politics. He said that Samantaray joined the party, reposing faith in its ideology and the work carried out by the double-engine governments at the Centre and in the state.

Hinting at his possible re-election to the Rajya Sabha, he said that Samantaray would also contribute to the party's cause in the Upper House of Parliament.

In a major setback to the opposition BJD, Samantaray on Monday tendered his resignation from the primary membership of the party in a letter addressed to the BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik, citing continuous sidelining within the party.

He also resigned from his Rajya Sabha membership, reducing the regional party's member count in the Upper House to five. It is worth noting that the three-time MLA was elected to the Odisha Legislative Assembly from the Tirtol and Barabati-Cuttack constituencies during 2000 - 2004, 2009 - 2014 and 2014 - 2019.

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