TNI Bureau: Former Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Rajya Sabha MP Debashish Samantaray joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in New Delhi on Tuesday in the presence of senior party leaders.

A close associate of former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Samantaray had resigned from both the BJD and the Rajya Sabha on Monday. In his resignation, he alleged that he was being “systematically belittled” within the party organisation.

His departure marks another setback for the BJD, coming months after former Rajya Sabha MPs Sujeet Kumar and Mamata Mahanta also quit the party and later entered the Rajya Sabha on BJP tickets.