New Delhi: Former Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MPs Bhartruhari Mahtab and Siddhant Mohapatra officially joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) here on Thursday.
Mahtab had resigned on March 21 accusing Naveen Patnaik-led BJD of "deviating" from its vision. On the same day, BJP had also announced that it will not enter into any alliance with the BJD for the upcoming Lok Sabha and assembly elections. Mahopatra, an Odia film hero was a BJD MP from Berhampur.
Sources said Mahtab is likely to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls from Cuttack, a constituency he has represented for six consecutive terms. Mahtab's career in Parliament earned him the prestigious 'Sansad Ratna' award for four consecutive years from 2017 to 2020, in recognition of his outstanding performance in parliamentary debates.
His political journey began in 1998 when he was first elected to the Lok Sabha from Cuttack. Since then, he has secured re-election in 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014, and most recently in 2019 under the BJD banner.
The shift of Mahtab and Mohapatra to the BJP adds to the list of BJD leaders who have recently switched allegiances to the saffron party. Notable among these defectors are a close relative of BJD organising secretary PP Das and popular Odia actor Arindam Roy. Additionally, another prominent BJD leader, tribal leader, and former minister, Balabhadra Majhi, citing neglect and sidelining within the party, recently joined the Congress.
Odisha, with its 21 parliamentary constituencies, holds significant political sway in the eastern region. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJD emerged as the dominant force, securing 12 seats, closely followed by the BJP with 8 seats, while the Congress managed to secure just one seat.
However, in the simultaneous assembly polls held alongside the Lok Sabha elections, the BJD swept the state, winning a commanding 113 out of 147 seats. The BJP trailed behind with 23 seats, followed by the Congress with 9 seats, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) with 1 seat, and an independent candidate securing another.
As the electoral battle heats up in Odisha, preparations for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls are underway. Spanning across four phases, with voting dates ranging from May 13 to June 1, the state gears up for a crucial electoral showdown.
The parliamentary segments from Odisha that will vote in the sixth phase include Sambalpur, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Cuttack, Puri, and Bhubaneswar, mostly western, central, and coastal regions, while Lok Sabha constituencies in northern and coastal pockets like Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, and Jagatsinghpur will vote in the seventh phase. (With ANI Inputs)
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