Odisha: Khariar MLA Adhiraj Panigrahi joins BJD after quitting Congress

Bhubaneshwar (Odisha) [India], March 20 : In what is seen as a big blow to Odisha Congress ahead of the ensuing elections, sitting MLA from Khariar constituency in Nuapada district, Adhiraj Mohan Panigrahi, who quit the party a day before, joined the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Wednesday.
Adhiraj, after joining Naveen Patnaik's party, said that he had jumped the ship after 'getting inspired' by the ideals of the Chief Minister.
"Taking inspiration from the ideals of the Chief Minister, I am joining the BJD today. I have never done the politics of tickets. I will work with whatever confidence the Chief Minister places in me," he said.
Adhiraj Mohan Panigrahi, however, said that he has no complaints about his old party.
"I have no complaints with Congress...I have worked in Congress for 25 years. Congress gave me respect, and I too gave them respect. But in today's situation, if you want to see the progress of Odisha, it is necessary to have the CM's blessings," he said.
Adhiraj resigned from the primary membership of Congress and sent his resignation letter to Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Sarat Pattnayak on Tuesday.
Earlier, Anshuman Mohanty, a Congress MLA, quit the party and joined the BJD in February.
Elections to the Odisha assembly and 21 Lok Sabha seats will be held in the final four of the seven general election phases.
Elections in Odisha span across four phases -- May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1. Nomination filing dates vary per phase, with the last phase having nominations until May 14 and withdrawals by May 17.
In the 2019 elections, BJD secured a comfortable victory with 112 out of 147 seats, while the BJP and Congress managed to secure 23 and nine seats, respectively.
Four Lok Sabha seats in the southern and western parts--Kalahandi, Koraput, Nabarangpur and Berhampur--and 28 assembly seats under these parliamentary segments will vote on May 13 during the fourth phase. In the subsequent phase on May 20, five Lok Sabha seats in western and interior pockets--Bargarh, Sundargarh, Balangir, Kandhamal and Aska--and 35 assembly constituencies will vote in Odisha.
Six Lok Sabha seats each and 42 assembly seats falling under the areas will vote in the sixth and seventh phases on May 25 and June 1. The parliamentary segments from Odisha that will vote in the sixth phase include Sambalpur, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Cuttack, Puri and Bhubaneswar, mostly western, central and coastal regions, while Lok Sabha constituencies in northern and coastal pockets like Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur will vote in the seventh phase.
The counting of votes will be held on June 4.
A total of 3.32 crore electors, including 1.68 crore male, 1.64 crore female and 3,380 third gender, will exercise their franchise in the state during the polls in Odisha. The state has 9,060 voters aged above 100 years, while 7.54 lakh new voters will cast their votes for the first time.