Bhubaneswar: Former Minister Ganeswar Behera on Sunday joined the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) at Sankha Bhawan in the presence of several BJD leaders.
Behera embraced the conch party along with hundreds of his supporters five days after he resigned from Congress. Senior BJD leaders MP Sasmit Patra, Sashi Bhushan Behera, Manas Mangaraj and Pratap Jena welcomed him to the party.
Addressing media, Behera said he was inspired by the leadership of Naveen Patnaik. “CM Naveen Patnaik continues to do welfare activities for the people of Odisha uninterruptedly. I would join the development path with BJD. I will work under the leadership of Naveen Patnaik for the development of Kendrapara and Odisha. I would like to thank ‘Vikash Purush’ Naveen Patnaik,” Behera said.
On Tuesday, he had resigned from the primary membership of the party.
Behera, who hails from Kendrapara district, sent his resignation letter to Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Sarat Pattanayak.
Speculation is rife that the BJD is likely to field Behera from the Kendrapara assembly segment which is reserved for the scheduled caste candidates.
In the 2019 polls, Shashi Bhusan Behera of BJD had won the seat by defeating Ganeswar Behera by a margin of 6,320 votes.
Ganeswar Behera said that his well-wishers and voters of his constituency have been urging him to join the BJD.
Several Congress leaders former OPCC former working president and ex-MLA Chiranjib Biswal, former minister Surendra Singh Bhoi, sitting MLA Adhiran Panigrahi, ex-MLA K Surya Rao and Ansuman Mohanty have joined the BJD in the recent past
