Ex-Biju Janata Dal leader Jay Panda to join BJP today

New Delhi: Baijayant Jay Panda, who quit Odisha's ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in 2018, is likely to join the BJP shortly on Monday.

Panda, 55, quit the BJD last May after a bitter falling out with his party chief, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

Jay Panda had been a parliamentarian of the BJD since 2000.

Panda’s entry may hurt Patnaik’s party in Odisha ahead of Lok Sabha and state elections,



especially when the saffron party is making inroads into the state.

Jay Panda’s troubles in the party peaked when he was suspended on “disciplinary grounds” after he openly challenged the leadership after poor performance in 2017’s local polls.

He was removed as the BJD's parliamentary party spokesperson over an article he wrote shortly after Panchayat or rural body polls, alleging that the party was being run by "opportunists".