Former BJD MlA Ashok Panigrahi officially joined the BJP at a meeting held on Monday at Barpali in Bargarh district ahead of the Bijepur Assembly by-election.
Panigrahi joined the saffron party at a public gathering in the presence of Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Jual Oram, BJP State president Basanta Panda and former State president KV Singh Deo.
Around 30,000 BJP workers had gathered during the programme braving rains. Union Ministers Pradhan and Oram and Odisha party in-charge Arun Singh and other State leaders lashed out at the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD Government as part of their strategy to prepare for the upcoming 2019 elections.
Pradhan took a dig at the State Government for neglecting farmers. He claimed that the BJP Governments in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have already waived off crop loans of the farmers. But it is difficult to understand why the BJD Government is afraid to waive farmers’ loans in Odisha.
On the other hand, a section of BJP workers have threatened to oppose Panigrahi as the party’s candidature in the Bijepur by-poll. Opposing Panigrahi’s joining the BJP, party’s Bargarh district president Narayan Sahu skipped the joining ceremony along with his supporters.
However, Panigrahi said he has joined the party sans any political interest.
KV Singh Deo also said the party would shortly announce its candidate for the by-poll while the day’s event was only to mark the joining of Panigrahi.
Notably, taking an early step to capture the Bijepur seat, the BJD has already announced deceased MlA Subal Sahu’s wife Rita Sahu as its MlA candidate for the by poll.