Bhubaneswar: Ex-BJD leader Kulesika joins BJP

Bhubaneswar : Former MLA and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Kailash Chandra Kulesika on Friday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) here along with his supporters in the presence of State unit BJP president Manmohan Samal and other senior leaders. Kulesika had resigned from BJD after being denied ticket to contest from Laxmipur Assembly segment.

The BJD president and Odisha Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik, on Thursday renominated Prabhu Jani for Laxmipur Assembly seat. Kulesika had been elected to Odisha Assembly after winning from Laxmipur constituency on a Congress ticket in 2014. He lost to BJD’s Jani by a very small margin of 229 votes in the 2019 General Elections. Kulesika later quit the Congress and joined the BJD in 2021. A disgruntled Kulesika walked out of BJD a few hours after the party fielded Jani from the seat on Thursday.

Speaking to media persons, Kulesika said that BJD betrayed him by denying a ticket from Laxmipur. Kulesika also said that he was hopeful of getting a ticket from BJD in 2024 but all his hopes were shattered. “It is very unfortunate that the BJD high command did not fulfil the promise given to me when I joined the party in 2021. So I, along with supporters, joined the BJP,” said Kulesika.

Kulesika also alleged that the BJD had offered him Rs 1 crore and the post of adviser for the Special Development Council (SDC) to remain in the party.