EX-BJD leader Panda joins BJP

NEWDELHI:FORMER Biju Janata Dal leader Baijayant Jay Panda joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in New Delhi on Monday, almost nine months after he snapped ties with the BJD following differences with one-time friend and the state’s chief minister Naveen Patnaik.

Panda is expected to contest the forthcoming Parliamentary election on a BJP ticket.

“Panda has the reputation of fighting against social ills,” said BJP general secretary in-charge of Odisha, Arun Singh.

“We have a situation in Odisha where governance has very sharply deteriorated over the last few years,” Panda said at the BJP HQ. “It is no secret that I have admired Narendra Modi’s leadership and the direction in which it is taking the country.”

Odisha votes for the parliamentary and the Lok Sabha election simultaneously. The BJP fielded candidates in all 21 Lok Sabha seats in 2014, but could win just one. It also fielded candidates in all 147 assembly segments and won 10 seats. It emerged as the second largest party in panchayat elections held in 2017 and the BJP hopes some of these gains suggest an improved performance in the coming parliamentary and assembly elections.

“We lacked a face in the state,” a BJP leader said. “We now have two known faces in Panda and union minister Dharmendra Pradhan. There are others too. We expect to do better in both parliamentary and assembly elections.”

“Patnaik remains popular and resourceful. All the political dynasties of Odisha remains loyal to Patnaik. Jay Panda has been closely associated with Ram Madhav’s India Foundation for a long time. With rise of BJP as force in Odisha he had to take a call. What took so long is surprising,” said political analyst Sidharth Mishra.