Former Baleswar MLA Jiban Pradip Dash, who was expelled from the BJD, joined the BJP on Thursday. It was a homecoming for Dash, he said as he had begun his political career in the BJP before coming to the BJD fold later.
Dash got inducted in the BJP in the presence of Union Minister Pratap Chandra Sarangi. “I joined the party without putting forward any condition. I will work for the party as directed by its high command,” said Dash.
Notably, BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik had expelled Dash from the party in November last for allegedly indulging in anti-party activities two days after the Baleswar Assembly by-election. There was a rift between Dash and Baleswar district BJD president Rabindra Jena over selection of the party nominee for the by-poll. As Dash was not given ticket, he continued to remain absent from campaigning for the candidate announced by the party. Dash had been elected to the Assembly as a BJP candidate in 2000 and as BJD nominee in 2009 and 2014. In 2019, he lost to BJP’s Madan Mohan Dutta, whose death necessitated the by-election.