Former minister Arjun Sethi quits BJD, joins BJP

BHUBANESWAR: Ahead of simultaneous elections in Odisha, veteran Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader and sitting MP from Bhadrak constituency Arjun Charan Sethi on Saturday resigned from the party and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The six-time Lok Sabha member from Bhadrak tendered his resignation to party supremo Naveen Patnaik.

Apart from resigning from the primary membership of the party, the 78-year-old leader who was minister in the Atal Behari Vajpayee government also quit as member of parliament as well as from the post of district president.

“I wanted to meet Naveen Patnaik but was not given an appointment. I waited for four hours but failed to meet him. At this old age, it was embarrassing that I had to wait for so long. I am pained that neither I nor my son was given ticket to contest in the ensuing polls,” Mr Sethi told media.

Bhadrak youth BJD president Durga Das also tendered his resignation.

Mohan Jena, another BJD stalwart and former Jajpur Lok Sabha member, also resigned from the party and joined the BJP.

“I was feeling suffocated in the BJD. Though I worked hard for the party, I was always ignored and never invited to participate in organisational activities,” said Mr Jena.

While Arjun Sethi’s on Abhimanyu is likely to contest on BJP ticket from Bhadrak Lok Sabha seat,  Mohanj Jena will vie for Jajpur LS seat.

Prior to Arjun Sethi, three BJD Lok Sabha members – Baijayant Jay Panda, Balabhadra Majhi and Pratyusha Rajeswar had resigned the primary membership of the party and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analyses et all. Happy reading.