Bhubaneswar, March, 28 : Former Biju Janata Dal leader Bhartruhari Mahtab, who recently severed ties with his party, formally joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the party headquarters in New Delhi today. Alongside him, former BJD MP Siddhant Mohapatra and noted litterateur Damayanti Besra also joined the BJP.
Also BJP will announce its candidates’ list for Odisha assembly segments within next two days.
It is rumored that BJP would field Bhartuhari Mahatab in Cuttack lok sabha seat in the ensuing election.
Bhartruhari Mahtab, the son of Odisha’s former Chief Minister Harekrushna Mahtab, has been representing the prestigious Cuttack Parliamentary seat since 1998. He was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1998 from Cuttack and was re-elected in 1999, 2004, 2009, and 2014. He retained the seat for BJD in 2019.
His accomplishments include receiving the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award in 2017 and being conferred with Sansad Ratna awards in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020. Currently, Bhartruhari chairs the Parliament Standing Committee on Labour, Textiles, and Skill Development. He also serves as the deputy chairperson of the Committee of Parliament on Official Language and is a member of the Public Accounts Committee.
Also Former Salepur MLA Prakash Behera has officially resigned from the primary membership of BJP.
Bhartruhari’s decision to leave the BJD was driven by a sense of relief, as he expressed: “My decision to snap my umbilical cord with BJD may be harsh, but it has given me immense relief. This is because I had been living with a kind of pain. When it became unbearable, I took the decision”. His critical views on the functioning of the BJD and the Odisha government have been evident in multiple editorials published in his newspaper.
Notably, Bhartruhari’s resignation from the BJD occurred a day after the Special Court for MP/MLAs framed charges against him in connection with an alleged assault on a police officer. His move to the BJP marks a significant shift in Odisha’s political landscape.
