A total of 16 rebel corporators, 11 from the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) and five from the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC), joined the BJD on Tuesday.While the BMC corporators joined the party at the Naveen Niwas, the CMC corporators were welcomed into the BJD at the party office here.
“Several corporators have joined our party today. It will strengthen the party,” said BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. These corporators had contested against the official candidates of the BJD after being denied tickets in the recently-concluded polls.
“I was in the BJD earlier. After being denied a party ticket, I contested against the party’s official candidate and won. I preferred to continue in the party named after Biju Patnaik, my ideal,” said Monalisa Sahu, BMC Ward -8 corporator.