Former Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Baijayant 'Jay' Panda joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday, 4 March in the presence of Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
I accept the leadership of PM Modi and Amit Shah and I can assure that is what you need for the country to move forward. It is no secrtet that I have admired the leadership of PM Modi.Baijayant Panda
Saying the BJD’s prolonged rule in the country had deteriorated governance, he added that PM Modi takes decisions that benefit the country in the long run.
“PM Modi has demonstrated that he is capable of taking decisions which are beneficial in the long term for the country,” Panda said.
Pradhan praised Panda and said he will be beneficial to the rising popularity of the BJP in Odisha.
“His ideologies match with those of PM Modi and the BJP. He was criticised by his own party for that. He decided to join the BJP under the leadership on PM Modi and Amit Shah,” he said.
“BJP is rising in Odisha. Baijayant ji joining the party at such times will give it a momentum,” he added.
According to PTI, Panda, who had quit the BJD in May 2017 after he had a falling out with party chief Naveen Patnaik, had recently said that he is willing to join hands with anybody "committed to tackling the severe problems that Odisha now faces."
Panda had been a parliamentarian since 2000 and had been among the BJD’s most prominent leaders from Odisha.
According to NDTV, a rift between Panda and Patnaik began after he openly challenged the leadership over the party’s poor performance in local polls in 2017, leading to him being suspended from the party over disciplinary grounds.
He was later removed as the BJD's parliamentary party spokesperson over an article he wrote shortly after Panchayat or rural body polls, alleging that the party was being run by "opportunists."
(With inputs from ANI, PTI and NDTV)
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