Jharsuguda: Former Congress leader and Jharsuguda MLA Naba Das formally joined the BJD here on Thursday.
He joined the ruling party in presence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Along with Das, eight Congress leaders including the chairman of Jharsuguda Zilla Parishad and the chairpersons of five blocks also joined the regional party.
Das had resigned from the primary membership of the Congress and the post of working president of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) on January 16.
In his resignation letter submitted to AICC president Rahul Gandhi, Das had attributed his decision to the will of the people of his constituency. “The people and voters of my area want that I should contest the next 2019 election from BJD as they want our area should develop and I should join hands with Naveen Patnaik,” he had pointed out.
