**Bhubaneswar:** BJD supremo and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday inducted Bhimsen Choudhary, a former Congress politician into his party at the BJD party office in the presence of an array of senior BJD leaders.
Mining minister Prafulla Mallik, former ministers Mangala Kisan, Sharda Prasad Nayak and Subrat Tarai were also present on the occasion.
Speaking to media the BJD supremo said that he welcomes the joining of the former MLA from Bonai assembly constituency in Sundargarh district along with 500 Congress local members that would strengthen the party.
Choudhary in his reaction said he was impressed by the ongoing trend of development under the rule of BJD in the state headed by Naveen Babu and wish to reflect the trend in the hilly terrains of Bonaigarh taking into view the present state of affairs of the place and its people.
Notably, Bhimsen Chowdhary was suspended from BJP unit in 2012, after which he had joined Congress party in 2014 on the eve of the General Elections.
