BJD MLA Arabinda Dhali resigns, set to join BJP

Bhubaneswar, March 2: Biju Janata Dal (BJD) faced a significant setback as veteran party member and sitting MLA Arabinda Dhali announced his resignation from the party on Saturday.
Dhali, who currently represents the Bhubaneswar Jayadev assembly constituency, submitted his resignation letter to BJD Supremo and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik via email. While no specific reason was cited for his departure, Dhali confirmed to the media that he would be joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) the following day.
Having been elected to the Assembly from the Jayadev Constituency in 2009 and subsequently winning the 2019 Assembly polls on a BJD ticket, Dhali's exit marks another prominent defection from the party. His departure follows closely on the heels of other key leaders such as Pradeep Panigrahi, Debasis Nayak, and Prashant Jagdev, who recently parted ways with the BJD.
Prior to Dhali, Gopalpur MLA Pradeep Panigrahi and former Odisha minister Debasis Nayak had also joined the BJP after leaving the BJD. Similarly, sitting Chilika MLA Prashant Jagdev recently joined the BJP in Bhubaneswar, adding to the string of high-profile exits from the BJD.
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