"You have my blessings": Odisha CM welcomes into BJD son of expelled leader, now with BJP

Bhubaneshwar (Odisha) [India], March 8 (ANI): BJD president and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has inducted Arabinda Mohapatra, son of BJP leader Bijoy Mohapatra and one of the founding members of the BJD who was expelled from the party 24 years ago.
Arabinda joined the party on Thursday at Naveen Patnaik's residence here.
Patnaik, while welcoming Arabinda asked him to work hard for the district of Kendrapada.
"We welcome you to the BJD. Work hard for the district of Kendrapada. You have my blessings and please thank your father also," Patnaik said at his residence on Thursday.
Addressing supporters later, he said: "I welcome you all to Biju Parivar. I welcome Arabinda Mohapatra, son of Bijoy Babu, to the BJD. You all continue to do good work for Kendrapada."
The development comes amid growing indications that the BJP and the Biju Janata Dal, which is in power in Odisha, are on the verge of finalising their alliance with senior leaders of the two parties holding separate meetings on Wednesday.
Bijoy, a four-time MLA from Patkura between 1980 and 2000, was known to be a confidant of former Chief Minister Biju Patnaik, father of the current Chief Minister.
However, after the death of Biju Patnaik on April 17, 1997, Bijoy was instrumental in BJD's formation and in bringing Biju's younger son Naveen Patnaik to lead the outfit.
He also headed the party's political affairs committee and opposed most decisions of Patnaik, which is believed to be the reason for his exit from the BJD.
Later, he founded Odisha Gana Parishad in 2001 which was subsequently merged with NCP. Bijoy Mohapatra later joined the BJP.
Odisha has 21 Parliamentary constituencies.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJD got the maximum number of seats followed by the BJP and the Congress. The BJD won 12 seats, the BJP bagged 8 and the Congress won one seat.
The state has 147 Assembly constituencies.
The BJD swept the state in the last polls, winning 113 seats in the 2019 elections held simultaneously with the general elections. The BJP came a distant second with 23 seats, followed by the Congress with 9, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) with one seat and an Independent candidate bagging another seat. (ANI)