Balasore: Ollywood actress Jina, her husband Rudra Panigrahi along with 80 others joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Odisha’s Balasore district on Saturday.
Sources said the BJP organised a merger ceremony where Balasore MP Pratap Chandra Sarangi and other senior party leaders were present.
While Sarangi, a former Union Minister, has continuously been striving to broaden the party base in north Odisha by touring different parts of his constituency and organising merger meetings, the joining of the actress and a large number of people has come as a shot in the arm of the saffron party.
Jina is a popular actress in the Odisha cine industry. She has a good fan following across the state. Jina hails from Kamarda area of Balasore district.
Notably, many other Ollywood actors had earlier joined the BJP
Party insiders say that such merger programmes will be frequently organised as the 2024 general elections are drawing closer.
The merger meeting came ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to the state on March 26.
