"Such people are poster boys of BJP": BJD leader Sasmit Patra on BJP MLA Prashant Jagdev's arrest

Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], May 26 (ANI): Lashing out at the Bharatiya Janata Party, following the arrest of BJP MLA Prashant Jagdev, BJD leader Sasmit Patra on Sunday said that such people are the poster boys of BJP in Odisha.
The Odisha police, on Sunday, arrested Prashant Jagdev, the BJP MLA from Chilika assembly constituency, on charges of allegedly toppling an electronic voting machine (EVM) and assaulting two polling personnel during Saturday's polling.
"A person who was thrown out of the BJD for such criminal activities of trying to run over BJP supporters at that time in a drunken state with his car, who had assaulted the then BJP town president of Khorda... had recently also declared in a press meet that on the eve of the polling day he would attack police stations and the collector's office. Such people are now the poster boys of violence in Odisha BJP. We thank the Election Commission of India for taking the necessary steps to arrest such a person. We hope that such recurrences of violence by Odisha BJP leaders and candidates do not happen in the last phase (of elections)."
BJP leader Prasanta Kumar Jagadev has been fielded from Khurda Lok Sabha constituency against BJD leader Rajendra Kumar Sahu.
The arrest of the BJP leader comes amid ongoing Lok Sabha elections and Assembly elections in Odisha.
Forty-two assembly constituencies in Odisha went to polls in Odisha on Saturday. Assembly elections are being held in the state simultaneously with the Lok Sabha elections in the state. The counting of votes will be held on June 4.
The 2024 Indian general election in Odisha is being held in four phases to elect 21 members of 18th Lok Sabha.
In the last assembly elections in 2019, the BJD won 112 out of 146 seats. BJP won 23 seats and Congress got nine seats. (ANI)