Lekhasri Samantasinghar, the vice-president of the BJP’s Odisha branch, shocked the opposition party on Sunday by quitting and joining the Biju Janata Dal in front of the Lok Sabha and state assembly elections.
Lekhasri is the second vice-president of the BJP in Odisha, following Bhrugu Baxipatra, to leave the party and join the BJD a few weeks before to the elections.
Lekhasri stated she “failed” to gain the confidence of the leadership and hence resigned from the saffron party in a letter to Manmohan Samal, the head of the Odisha BJP.
For the last 10 years, I have donated both my blood and sweat to the Bharatiya Janata Party. But in spite of my honesty and diligence, I was unable to gain the leadership’s confidence. Thus, I believe there is nothing more I can accomplish here, and this is impeding my desire to help the people of Odisha,” Lekhasri said in the letter.
On Sunday, Lekhasri became a member of the BJD in the company of Manas Mangaraj and Sasmit Patra, two party MPs.
“After working so hard for a party that did not appreciate my efforts, it is challenging to change.” I’m grateful that BJD accepted me. The chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s developmental initiatives excite me. At “Sankha Bhavan,” the BJD state headquarters, she joined the regional party and promised reporters, “I will do my best for the BJD.”
She could attempt to get a ticket to the Balasore Lok Sabha constituency, since BJD has not yet revealed the identity of its candidate.
Seven female candidates were put out by the BJD in 2019 for the state’s 21 Lok Sabha seats. But thus far, the party has only nominated six women this time around.