Another expelled BJD MLA Prashant Jagdev on February 29 joined the BJP and expected a double-engine government in Odisha after the Lok Sabha and the State Assembly elections later this year.
He was an MLA from the Chilika constituency before expulsion.
Mr. Jagdev, a two-time MLA, once from Begunia and currently the sitting legislator from Chilika, joined the BJP in the presence of Odisha co-in-charge Lata Usendi, Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi and former state unit president Samir Mohanty.
Mr. Jagdev is the second expelled BJD leader after Pradeep Panigrahy to join the BJP this month. Mr. Panigrahy is a three-time MLA from Gopalpur.
A total of four MLAs were expelled from the BJD in the recent past, and two of them have joined the BJP.
The remaining two were Khandapada MLA Soumya Ranjan Patnaik and Remuna MLA Sudhansu Sekhar Parida.
