"Big zero...": BJD leader Muzibulla Khan on Bhatruhari Mahtab, Sidhant Mohapatra joining BJP

Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], March 28 : After BJD leaders Bhatruhari Mahtab and Sidhant Mohapatra joined the BJP, Biju Janata Dal leader Muzibulla Khan on Thursday called them a "big zero" and said that the leaving of the two leaders wouldn't impact the BJD in the Lok Sabha elections.
"That won't impact the BJD... Post isn't everything. He (Bhatruhari Mahtab) claims to be the founder member of the party, if you are the founder member, do something for the party, and if there is something wrong within the party that you think, you should try to resolve that. But, leaving the party and joining others is wrong," Khan told ANI.
"The second MP (Sidhant Mohapatra) wasn't very close to politics, he came as a film star in the BJD and won twice. Now, he left as well but that won't have any impact on the party as he never raised his voice for Odisha in the parliament in 10 years. I think those who left the BJD and joined the BJP are a big zero," he added.
Former Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MPs Bhartruhari Mahtab and Sidhant Mohapatra joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in the national capital.
Six-time Cuttack MP Bhartruhari Mahtab, who recently resigned from the BJD and has been representing the Cuttack Lok Sabha seat since 1998.
Meanwhile, Damayanti Beshra joined the BJP at the party's national headquarters here in the presence of party national general secretary Vinod Tawde, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, BJP's Odisha chief Manmohan Samal, and national vice president Baijayant Panda.
After joining the BJP, Sidhant Mohapatra said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi's double engine government has to be brought in Odisha."
Mohapatra said, that the development that Odisha needs has not happened yet and as PM Modi always says that there should be a 'Double-Engine' government, and Odisha must have a double engine government.
"After being 25 years in government, we all expected development in Odisha, but the kind of transformation we thought of while joining the BJD, didn't take place in the state. The double-engine govt that PM Modi talks about is now needed in Odisha. Whatever responsibility the central leadership gives to me, will do that (on contesting 2024 elections)," he told ANI.
Meanwhile, soon after joining the BJP, Padma awardee Dr Damayanti Beshra and former BJD leader Sidhant Mohapatra met BJP national president JP Nadda in Delhi.
In the recent past, several BJD leaders have quit the party for the BJP. Among those who resigned were a close relative of BJD organising secretary PP Das and popular Odia actor Arindam Roy who resigned last week and joined the BJP.
Another BJD senior tribal leader and former minister Balabhadra Majhi alleged that he was neglected and sidelined for the last five years and joined Congress.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections in Odisha, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) emerged as the dominant party, securing 20 out of the 21 seats, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won a single seat.
Odisha has 21 parliamentary constituencies. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) got the maximum number of seats, followed by the BJP and the Congress. The BJD won 12 seats, the BJP finished a close second at 8 seats and the Congress bagged just a lone seat.
The Lok Sabha elections in Odisha, which comprise 21 constituencies, are set to take place in four phases. The voting dates have been scheduled for May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1.