Bhubaneswar: Former Minister and Gopalpur MLA Pradeep Panigrahi joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the state party headquarters in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday.
Panigrahi joined BJP in the presence of Odisha BJP President Manmohan Samal and other senior leaders.
According to sources, Panigrahi had met Odisha BJP President Manmohan Samal on February 15 following which speculations were rife that he could join the saffron camp Panigrahi.
It may be mentioned that Panigrahi was expelled from BJD for anti-public activities in 2020. BJD Supremo Naveen Patnaik took action against Panigrahi after his alleged association with tainted IFS officer Abhay Kant Pathak’s son Akash Kumar Pathak and involvement in a job fraud surfaced.