Bhubaneswar: In a big setback for Biju Janata Dal, party veteran and sitting MLA Arabinda Dhali resigned from the party on Saturday.
Dhali, who represents the Bhubaneswar Jayadev assembly constituency, tendered his resignation letter to BJD Supremo and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik via email.
However, he has not cited any specific reason for quitting the party.
Meanwhile, Dhali informed the media that he will join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) tomorrow.
Dhali was elected to the Assembly from Jayadev Constituency in 2009. He won the Assembly polls from Jayadev on BJD ticket in 2019.
His exit from the party comes close on the heels of other top leaders Pradeep Panigrahi, Debasis Nayak, and Prashant Jagdev quitting the party, days ago.
Before Dhali, Gopalpur MLA Pradeep Panigrahi and former Odisha minister Debasis Nayak had also joined the BJP after leaving BJD. Similarly, sitting Chilika MLA Prashant Jagdev also joined the BJP in Bhubaneswar recently.
