Barpali NAC chairperson, 6 Cong councillors join BJD

Bhubaneswar: In a shot in the arm for the ruling Biju Janata Dal in Odisha, chairperson, vice-chairperson and six Congress councillors of Barpali urban local body in Bargarh district on Sunday joined the BJD. BJD president and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik welcomed the Congress leaders, including Barpali Notified Area Council (NAC) chairperson Meena Seth and vice chairperson Pradyumna Tripathy, while inducting them into the ruling party at his residence here.

The six councillors who joined the BJD were - Achyutananda Panda, Suchhi Behera, Aswini Parida, Gayatri Rout, Basanti Bhoi and Babita Rana.

Voicing happiness over the development, Patnaik said "I welcome them into our party. Their joining will further strengthen the Biju Janata Dal."

Induction of the Congress leaders from Barpali into BJD came around a fortnight after late Congress MLA Subal Sahu's wife, Rita Sahu, and her family members including son Sumit joined the ruling party on September 23.