Following the footsteps of Mahtab, Kendrapara Lok Sabha MP and actor, Anubhav Mohanty, on Monday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Mohanty resigned from Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Saturday, March 20.
Mohanty is the second sitting BJD MP after Bhartruhari Mahtab of Cuttack Lok Sabha seat to quit the regional party before the 2024 general elections. Interestingly, while resigning, Mohanty said that he had been feeling suffocated in the party for over four years.
“Despite my unwavering loyalty and deep admiration for you sir, who I have regarded as a fatherly figure, I’ve been grappling with undisclosed concerns that have made me feel suffocated over the past four years,” Mohanty wrote in his resignation letter to Naveen Patnaik.
Before this, two former MLAs, Priyadarshi Mishra and Akash Das Nayak, also left the party in Odisha.
About Anubhav Mohanty
Anibhav Mohanty joined BJD on April 27, 2013, and in June 2014, he was elected to the Rajya Sabha on a BJD ticket and was fielded against BJP’s Baijayant Panda from Kendrapara Lok Sabha in 2019. He won the seat by over 1.53 lakh votes.
Reportedly, the Orissa High Court granted divorce to the actor turned politician from his wife, actress Varsha Priyadarshini, in December 2023, after a long battle.