Bhubaneswar: Ahead of third round of simultaneous elections in Odisha, senior BJD leader Jyotirindra Nath Mitra resigned from the party and joined BJP on Thursday.
Soon after coming back to BJP, Mitra, who is the sitting MLA of Khurda, along with his supporters participated in a roadshow of Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi.
Aparajita, who is seeking re-election from prestigious Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha seat as BJP candidate, took out the roadshow from Gosala ground in Khurda town. Jitu Mitra and Aparajita also sought votes for party’s MLA candidate Prasant Jagdev.
The three-time MLA, who is popularly known as Jitu Mitra, said the people of Odisha were dissatisfied with the performance of the BJD government and wanted change. “The BJP has gained massive popularity under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I joined BJP to help the party bring development to our state,” he said.
Mitra had quit the BJD in 2014 after being denied a party ticket. He then switched over to the BJP and contested the Assembly elections unsuccessfully. He again returned to BJD in 2019 and won the election as Khurda MLA.
In 2019 Assembly elections, Mitra had polled 84,553 votes to defeat BJP candidate Kalucharan Khandeitaray who polled 74,510 votes.
Both Lok Sabha and Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in Khurda on May 25.
