Bhubaneswar: Former BJP leader Bhrugu Baxipatra today joined the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), couple of hours after quitting the saffron party.

He joined the regional party at the Sankha Bhawan here.

Worth mentioning, Baxipatra had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Berhampur constituency on BJP ticket and lost to BJD's Chandra Sekhar Sahu by a margin of 94,844 votes. He had managed to garner 3,48,999 votes in his favour, which was 35.25% per cent of the total votes casted in the parliamentary constituency.

In his resignation letter addressed to BJP State President Manmohan Samal, Baxipatra had mentioned that the party does not require him, for which he decided to resign.

"I have realized that the party does not require me or my contribution anymore. Therefore, I have decided to move on," he wrote in the letter.