Six-time BJD MP Bhartruhari Mahtab joins BJP, likely to be fielded from Cuttack

BHUBANESWAR: Six-time Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP Bhartruhari Mahtab, former lawmaker and actor Sidhant Mohapatra and noted Santali writer Damayanti Beshra on Thursday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJD) triggering speculation that the party may field him in the forthcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
“My decision to snap my umbilical cord with BJD may be harsh but it has given me immense relief. This is because I had been living with a kind of pain. When it became unbearable, I took the decision,” said 67-year-old Bhartruhari, who was the BJD’s floor leader in the Lok Sabha between 2014 and 2019, said at an event to join the BJP at the party headquarters.
Mahtab, 67, son of former Odisha chief minister Harekrushna Mahtab, has been winning the Cuttack Lok Sabha seat since 1998. He resigned from BJD on March 22, alleging that ‘asura shakti’(evil forces) have a firm grip over the party and government.
The lawmaker, who also edits Odia daily Prajatantra, has lately been critical of the functioning of the BJD and the Odisha government in multiple editorials.
On his decision to make the switch, Mahtab said that sometimes it becomes inevitable to take a decision.
“Going by the last 10 years of experience, I thought it wise to join the BJP. The enthusiasm of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the confidence of home minister Amit Shah and the inspiration of the party’s national president will help me to move ahead. I am going to start a new innings with a new team,” said Mahtab. He is likely to be fielded from Cuttack Lok Sabha constituency against Santrupta Mishra of BJD.
Also joining the BJP with him was Siddhant Mohapatra, who was elected from the Berhampur Lok Sabha seat on a BJD ticket in 2009 and 2014. The BJD did not give him the party ticket in 2019 when it fielded former union minister Chandra Sekhar Sahu.
“It was in 2009 when I went to Gujarat and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief minister there. I noticed certain things there. He was thinking of the people and I was inspired by him. I want to see the transformation that the Prime Minister has been bringing about in the country in Odisha too. I will work for the betterment of the people of Odisha,” said Mohapatra, who is likely to get the ticket for one of the assembly constituencies of Ganjam district.
Damayanti Besra, a noted Santhali writer and educationist, who joined the BJP today, said she was inspired by the BJP’s slogan promising development for all.
“I will work for the welfare of all. The BJP has given me a chance to fulfil this purpose. A change is going to take place in Odisha and in fact, the winds of change are blowing in Odisha. I will reach out to women who have been deprived of development,” she said.
Over the last fortnight, several politicians including Odia actor Arindam Roy, brother-in-law of BJD organisational secretary Pranab Prakash Das, BJD MLA Arabinda Dhali, former MLA Mukunda Sodi and BJD’s Digapahandi block chairman Bipin Pradhan have joined the BJP.