Five-time Odisha MLA Arabinda Dhali on Sunday joined the BJP, a day after resigning from the ruling BJD.
Dhali went to the BJP office in Bhubaneswar along with his supporters in a procession, and formally joined the party in the presence of its state president Manmohan Samal and MP Aparajita Sarangi, among others.
Former MLA Mukunda Sodi, who also resigned from the BJD, joined the BJP along with Dhali.
Addressing the press, Dhali alleged that there was no democracy within the BJD and senior leaders were being neglected.
“After feeling suffocated, I left the BJD and joined the BJP, which has internal democracy,” he said.
Dhali, the MLA of Jaydev in Khorda district, claimed that the BJP will form the next government in the state by winning more than 100 of the Assembly’s 147 seats.