Bhubaneswar/UNI: In a significant political development in Odisha, veteran BJP leader and former Minister Bijaya Mohapatra’s son Arabinda Mohapatra on Thursday joined the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD).

BJD Supremo and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik welcomed Arabinda into the party fold at Naveen Niwas and asked him to do hard work for the development of Odisha.

Along with Arabinda, over a thousand supporters of Bijaya Mohapatra also joined the BJD today.

Bijaya Mohapatra, a close associate of the late Biju Patnaik and considered as a stalwart and important figure in Odisha politics, was one of the founding members of the Biju Janata Dal.

He was elected to the Odisha Legislative Assembly from Patkura Assembly seat in coastal Odisha four times in 1980, 1985, 1990, and 1995 Assembly elections. He was, however, denied a party ticket in the 2000 Assembly election and later expelled from the Biju Janata Dal.

Before joining the BJP in 2009, Bijaya Mohapatra floated Odisha Gana Parishad (OGP), a regional party that won two seats in the Odisha Assembly. The OGP was later merged with the Odisha unit of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) which was also dissolved at a later stage.

Arabinda after joining the BJD said he was very active in the Patkura Assembly constituency, held by his father four times in the past for the last three years.

He said after consulting the people of Patkura and with his father’s blessings, he decided to join the BJD and thanked Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for allowing him to serve the people of his area and the state.