Bhubaneswar: Putting an end to all speculations, Chilika MLA and suspended BJD leader Prashant Jagdev on Thursday joined BJP. Jagdev joined the saffron party in the presence of Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi and senior party leader Prithiviraj Harichandan among others at the state party headquarters in Bhubaneswar.
According to sources, Jagdev reached the BJP party office with his supporters. Sarangi welcomed Jagdev and inducted him into the party. BJP’s co-in-charge for Odisha, Lata Usendi was also present there.
Notably, Jagdev won as an MLA from Begunia constituency in Khurda district in 2014 on a BJD ticket. In 2019, he successfully contested from Chilika Assembly Constituency.
It may be mentioned that Jagdev was suspended from BJD in September 2021 after he was accused of assaulting a Dalit leader of the BJP near Chilika Lake. He was also arrested in connection with the case and sent to jail. He was again arrested in March 2022 for allegedly ploughing his SUV into a crowd of mostly BJP supporters and police personnel, outside Banapur block office in the Khurda district.
