Bhubaneswar: Former Odisha MLA Radharani Panda joined the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) after quitting Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the midst of the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the state.
Sources said the former legislator from Brajarajnagar sent her resignation letter to BJP’s Odisha unit president Manmohan Samal.
The ex-legislator joined the regional party in the presence of BJD’s organisational secretary Pranab Prakash Das.
Panda, who was denied BJP ticket for the ongoing twin elections in the state, resigned from the saffron party expressing her resentment over the functioning of the party.
She represented Brajrajnagar constituency in Jharsuguda district as a BJP member in the state Assembly from 2014 to 2019. In 2019 elections, she was defeated by BJD’s Kishore Mohanty.
This time, Panda was denied party ticket as BJP nominated Bargarh MP Suresh Pujari for Brajarajnagar Assembly seat.
