PTI, NEW DELHI: Former Biju Janata Dal MP Baijyant ‘Jay’ Panda joined the BJP Monday, giving a boost to the party in Odisha where it is looking to improve its tally in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Panda met BJP president Amit Shah here and later joined party in presence of its top leaders from Odisha, including Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Jual Oram, as he targeted the BJD for “sharp deterioration” in the state’s governance under its supremo and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
“This needs changing and only the Bharatiya Janata Party is capable of doing it,” he told reporters at a press conference.
The Assembly poll in the state will be held along with the parliamentary elections, and the BJP hopes that the presence of Panda will brighten its prospects, especially in coastal Odisha.
Welcoming him into the BJP, Pradhan, seen as its main face in the eastern state, said his presence will immensely benefit the party and praised him, saying that he had carved a niche for himself as a parliamentarian.
Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Panda said he has demonstrated that he is capable of taking extremely tough decisions, which are in the long-term interest of the country, be it in the field of economy or acting against terrorists.
Under Patnaik, governance has sharply deteriorated with extremely high levels of corruption and a big rise in crime, especially those against women, he alleged.
Panda, who owns an influential media empire in the state, had been a leading BJD parliamentarian, representing the regional party, first in the Rajya Sabha and then the Lok Sabha.
Amid his perceived proximity with the BJP and criticism of his party’s functioning, the BJD suspended him last year for “anti-party” activities. He then resigned from the party and also the Lok Sabha.
The BJD later alleged that he was involved in money laundering as it sought a probe. Panda had denied the charge.
