BHUBANESWAR: Hours after he left BJD expressing displeasure over ticket distribution, eight-time MP and president of ruling party’s Bhadrak unit Arjun Charan Sethi joined BJP along with his son Abhimanyu.Former Jajpur MP Mohan Jena and many other leaders including former MLAs from various parties also joined the saffron party here in presence of Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan and senior BJP leaders.Though Sethi was not an aspirant for party ticket this time, he was lobbying hard for his son for the Bhadrak Lok Sabha seat. The BJD has replaced Sethi with Manjulata Mandal, wife of BJD’s Dhamnagar MLA Muktikanta Mandal.“I am pained that neither I, nor my son were given ticket to contest the ensuing polls. This is despite the BJD president had personally assured me several times,” said Sethi.Sethi, in his resignation letter addressed to BJD president Naveen Patnaik, said the regional party has forgotten its ethics.“I went to you personally to meet you and waited for hours in Naveen Niwas, but your power corridor never gave a chance to meet you, which is very embarrassing situation in this old age to tolerate,” he added in his resignation letter.The 78-year-old leader is the fourth MP, who was elected to the Lok Sabha on BJD ticket in 2014 but switched to BJP ahead of the forthcoming general and assembly elections.Former Kendrapada MP Baijayant Panda, Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi and Kandhamal MP Pratyusha Rajeshwari Singh have already joined BJP. Both Baijayant and Majhi have been fielded from their respective seats while Pratyusha have decided not to fight polls this year. Similarly, the party is yet to announce its candidates for Bhadrak Lok Sabha seat.Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, while welcoming into the party fold, said Sethi’s joining will strengthen the party in Bhadrak district Sethi had first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1971 on a Congress ticket. He has been successively representing Bhadrak in Lok Sabha on BJD ticket since 1998. Sethi had also served as Union water resources minister in the AB Vajpayee government during 2000-04.Along with Sethi, many of his supporters including BJD youth activists, also resigned from the party. Earlier, five sitting MLAs have also resigned from BJD after they were denied tickets of which four MLAs have already joined BJP.In another development, veteran BJD leader and former minister Raghunath Mohanty resigned as chairperson, Odisha Lift Irrigation Corporation citing personal reasons.Though BJD is yet to announce candidate for Basta assembly constituency, Mohanty is reportedly upset after knowing that the regional party may not field him from Basta in the forthcoming poll. “Distribution of ticket is up to the chief minister. I am still in BJD,” said Raghunath.Meanwhile, the BJD has expelled three local leaders from the party for anti-party activities ahead of the simultaneous elections.

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