Bhubaneswar: Dissatisfied over not being nominated by the BJP for the Balasore Lok Sabha seat, Kharabela Swain announced on Monday that he would contest as an independent from the constituency.
Talking to the media today, Swain, a three-time MP, said that he would invoke former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and speak about the development plank of BJP in Balasore to garner votes. However, he will not resign from the party.
“I will contest as an Independent candidate and join the BJP if I win. I had contested from Kandhamal in the last election; and evinced interest to contest from Balasore this time. However, I have been denied a ticket. I will not quit BJP, the party can expel me,” he said.
Swain said he was hoping to be nominated from the Balasore constituency since he returned to the BJP in 2019. He was elected to Lok Sabha thrice on a BJP ticket.
In 2019, he was the BJP nominee for the Kandhamal Lok Sabha seat and he lost to BJD’s Achyuta Samanta.
