Former Biju Janata Dal Rajya Sabha MP Debashish Samantaray formally joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday, May 26, at the party’s national headquarters on Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg in New Delhi, confirming what BJP had teased as an “eminent personality” joining at 11 AM.
The ceremony was held in the presence of Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and Odisha BJP President Manmohan Samal. Samantaray expressed gratitude to former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik but indicated a clear shift toward a national party with better opportunities and governance focus.
Samantaray had resigned from both the BJD and his Rajya Sabha seat on May 25, citing systematic sidelining within the party and the growing influence of V.K. Pandian. A three-time former MLA and long-time associate of Naveen Patnaik, he is the third BJD Rajya Sabha MP to exit the party in recent months, following Sujeet Kumar and Mamata Mohanta, both of whom also joined the BJP. The exits reduce BJD’s strength in the Upper House to five members.