Veteran politician Arun Dey of Baleswar has returned to the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) fold ahead of the bye-election to Baleswar Sadar Assembly constituency scheduled on November 3.
The five-time former Baleswar MLA joined BJD in presence of party leaders Rabindra Jena, Pratap Jena, Pratap Deb and Pranab Prakash Das at a meeting held here on Wednesday.
The 75-year-old leader had last contested Assembly polls from Baleswar in 2014 on a Congress ticket but lost to BJD candidate Jiban Pradip Das. Dey had joined BJD only for 10 days in year 2014. Later, he left party and joined Congress after being denied ticket to contest Lok Sabha or Assembly polls that year.