Bhubaneswar, (Orissa Today), April 24: Simarani Nayak, MLA from Hindol, officially joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the party headquarters in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday evening, just a day after severing ties with the Biju Janata Dal (BJD). Her induction into the BJP fold was witnessed by state BJP president Manmohan Samal, former president Samir Mohanty, and Odisha election in-charge Vijaypal Singh Tomar.
Nayak’s decision to switch parties came after she resigned from the primary membership of the BJD on Monday. This move followed her replacement by Dhenkanal MP Mahesh Sahu as the candidate from Hindol. Nayak’s transition to the BJP aligns her with a growing list of legislators departing from the ruling BJD ahead of the forthcoming elections in Odisha.
Among those who have recently crossed over to the saffron camp are Arabinda Dhali (Jaydev), Premananda Nayak (Telkoi), Ramesh Chandra Sai (Athamallick), and Parsuram Dhada (Soro). Additionally, Gopalpur MLA Pradeep Kumar Panigrahy and Chilka MLA Prasanta Jagdev, who were expelled from the BJD for various reasons, have also joined the BJP.
In her resignation letter addressed to BJD president Naveen Patnaik, Nayak attributed personal issues as the motivation behind her decision. She expressed disillusionment with the BJD, alleging that despite her decade-long dedication to the party, her efforts were undervalued in favor of monetary considerations. Nayak lamented the absence of financial resources, mining assets, and industrial ventures, which she believed contributed to her exclusion from contesting in the upcoming polls.
Nayak’s move to the BJP follows the recent departures of two BJD MPs, Bhartruhari Mahtab and Anubhav Mohanty, who also joined the BJP ranks. As Odisha braces for simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly polls in four phases, commencing on May 13, political realignments are reshaping the landscape of the state’s political arena.
