Bhubaneswar:
Popular Odia film star and former Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MLA Akash Das Nayak joined the BJP in the presence of Odisha BJP state president Manmohan Samal at the party headquarters in Bhubaneswar on Sunday.
Akash Das Nayak, an Ollywood superstar, quit Biju Janta Dal (BJD) on Saturday and expressed his resentment over the functioning of the party.
Akash Das Nayak said, “I have joined BJD for the development of the people of Odisha, to fulfill Prime Minister Modi’s vision of Viksit Bharat and for the development of my constituency, Korei. In 2019 I didn’t get the ticket, but I still worked honestly. After working for BJD for 10 years, I made this decision. I have taken this decision on the advice of my supporters and seniors.”
Akash Das Nayak had won the Korei assembly seat on the BJD ticket in the 2014 elections. He did not contest the 2019 elections and later the state government appointed him chairman of the ‘Mo College’ programme.
Odisha has 21 parliamentary constituencies.
Notably, in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections in Odisha, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) emerged as the dominant party, winning 20 of the 21 seats, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won one seat.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) got the maximum number of seats, followed by the BJP and Congress.
The BJD won 12 seats, the BJP finished a close second with 8 seats, and the Congress won just one seat.
The Lok Sabha elections in Odisha, covering 21 constituencies, will be held in four phases. Voting dates are scheduled for May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1.
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