In a major blow to the BJP, the party’s former State vice-president Raj Kishore Das joined the BJD on Monday along with his supporters. At an induction programme in the Naveen Niwas, BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik welcomed Das and his supporters into the party fold.
Das, considered a heavyweight in Mayurbhanj district, had submitted his resignation from the primary membership of the BJP on March 23.
Later, without taking name, Das obviously challenged Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to contest against him from the Morada Assembly constituency. He said Pradhan, who is “dreaming to be Chief Minister”, cannot even win a Ward Member election.
He further said BJP functionaries are being tortured and God would never forgive the leaders for this and punish them. The BJP’s pride would be destroyed in Mayurbhanj, where the party would get zero results, he claimed.
