Former Cong MLA joins BJD  

BHUBANESWAR: In a jolt to the Congress, former Bhawanipatna MLA Dushmant Naik joined the BJD on Friday along with hundreds of party workers in presence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Naik had resigned from Congress a couple of days back.Those who joined the BJD include former Congress president of Bhawanipatna Sukanti Behera, 22 Sarpanchs, nine Ward Members and six former Sarpanchs. The party supremo welcomed all the newly-joined members and said, “Dushmant is an ex-MLA and a good organiser. Our party has gained in strength in Bhawanipatna Constituency with the joining of Congress workers.”

Naik and his supporters vowed to work for the betterment of the State and party. He gave all credit to the Chief Minister for development of his district and said, “My supporters have been suggesting me to join the ruling party for overall development of the Constituency. I will try to take Kalahandi district to number one position in the State.”Earlier, Naik had alleged that he was neglected and humiliated by some senior leaders in the Congress. He was also unhappy over party affairs.