Bhubaneswar: Former Brajarajnagar MLA Radharani Panda has joined the ruling BJD after quitting the BJP in Odisha.

Panda joined the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in the presence of party organizational general secretary Pranab Prakash Das today.

Earlier in the day, Panda resigned from the primary membership of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by sending a letter in this regard to party’s Odisha unit president Manmohan Samal.

In her resignation letter, Panda thanked the central as well as the state leadership of the BJP for giving her an opportunity to work for the party and serve the people of Brajarajnagar as a legislator for five years.

Notably, Panda had been elected to the Odisha Assembly from Brajarajnagar seat in Jharsuguda district on a BJP ticket in 2014.

However, she was defeated by BJD nominee Kishore Kumar Mohanty from the same constituency in 2019 Assembly elections in Odisha.

Panda was denied ticket by the BJP for this year’s Assembly polls in the state. The BJP has picked Bargarh MP Suresh Pujari to fight the polls from Brajarajnagar constituency.