Surendra Singh Bhoi, formerly the district Congress Committee (DCC) president of Balangir district, switched allegiance to the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) ahead of the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha polls. Bhoi formally joined the BJD at Sankha Bhawan after resigning from his positions within the Congress, including his primary membership and the post of President DCC, Balangir, as well as his AICC membership. Notably, Bhoi’s departure from the Congress marked the end of his 38-year-long association with the party.
This development occurred shortly after Cuttack MP Bhatruhari Mahtab and ex-MP Siddharth Mohapatra joined the BJP in Delhi, with Mahtab having previously resigned from the BJD on March 22. Mahtab, a six-time MP representing the Cuttack Lok Sabha seat since 1998, has been a prominent figure in Odisha politics.
In the past Lok Sabha elections in Odisha, the BJD emerged as the dominant party in the state, securing 20 out of the 21 seats, with the BJP winning a single seat. In the subsequent 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJD again secured the most seats, followed by the BJP and the Congress, with the BJD winning 12 seats, the BJP securing 8 seats, and the Congress managing to secure just one seat.
The upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Odisha, comprising 21 constituencies, are scheduled to be conducted in four phases, with voting dates set for May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1.