Bhubaneswar: Four-time Bari MLA and BJP leader Debasis Nayak will contest the upcoming assembly polls from the constituency in Jajpur district as an independent candidate.

Nayak posted in this regard on social media platform.

His move came after the BJP on Thursday fielded Umesh Jena as its candidate for Bari MLA.

Reports said Nayak was unhappy over the party's decision of not giving him the ticket to contest the elections from Bari seat.

"People of Bari are my strength. I will contest the polls to serve them," he posted on social media.

Nayak had successfully contested the assembly elections from Bari constituency as BJD candidate in 2000, 2004, 2009, and 2014. He had served as the minister for Sports and Youth Services and Information and Public Relations in the state.

In 2019, the BJD nominated Sunanda Das for Bari and she emerged victorious. Nayak was denied ticket by the BJD, that year.

On February 25 of this year, he had resigned from the regional party and joined the BJP.

"The ideology and principles of BJP have inspired me to join the party. The country has secured a special place in the world under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The BJD has changed a lot over the years. The regional party has also sacrificed its core values," Nayak had said after joining the BJP.