Until Wednesday, April 3, 2024, Bhrugu Baxipatra, previously the vice president of the State Bharatiya Janata Party, was firmly entrenched within the saffron party. However, his career trajectory swiftly changed direction following his resignation from the party he had long been associated with. Come evening, Mr. Baxipatra found himself nominated as the Berhampur constituency’s MP candidate for the Biju Janata Dal, a party he contested against in the 2019 elections.
In a peculiar turn of events, just a week ago, Manmath Routray, son of senior Congress leader Suresh Chandra Routray, joined the BJD on March 27. On the same day, his name appeared on the regional party’s list of MP candidates. The debutant politician will now lock horn with Aparajita Sarangi, BJP’s national spokesperson.
This turn of events marks a notable departure for the BJD, a party that has historically been highly sought after in Odisha since its establishment in 1997, and one that has never struggled to find suitable candidates. BJD has so far announced candidates for 20 out of 21 seats in the State.
