Bhubaneswar: A day after quitting the ruling BJD, actor-turned-politician Akash Dasnayak joined the BJP in Odisha on Sunday.

Dasnayak, a former MLA from Korei constituency in Jajpur, joined BJP at its Odisha unit headquarters here ahead of the upcoming simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the state.

BJP Odisha unit president Manmohan Samal and other leaders of the party including Sameer Mohanty, Pradeep Panigrahi, Sidhant Mohapatra and Arindam Ray were present on the occasion.

Dasnayak had been elected to the Odisha Assembly on a BJD ticket in 2014. He was the chairperson of Mo College initiative of the state government.

Dasnayak was also the star campaigner for ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD). He had resigned from the ruling party yesterday.

Dasnayak had tendered his resignation to BJD supremo and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He had cited ‘loss of self-respect’ in BJD as the reason behind his resignation from the ruling party.

“On hearing the voice of my inner soul, I am resigning from the primary membership of the Biju Janata Dal for my self-esteem and self-respect of the people of Korei. My life is dedicated to the service of mankind and the people of Korei. I will take further course of action based on suggestions from my supporters and people of Korei,” Dasnayak had said in a video message yesterday.