Bhubaneswar, Mar 22: Ahead of the simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Odisha, former Kendrapara MP Archana Nayak and several other leaders joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Bhubaneswar on Friday.

Former Chairman of Derabish block Saroj Kant Sahu, Derabish block Chairman Prabhati Mallik, Dr. Priyabrat Mishra and other leaders, who resigned from the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) recently, also joined BJP.

Nayak, who was a BJD MP from Kendrapara Lok Sabha constituency from 2004 to 2009, formally joined the saffron party in the presence of BJP State president Manmohan Samal and MP Aparajita Sarangi, among others.

Samal welcomed Nayak and other leaders to the BJP fold and said that their party organisation will become more strong in Kendrapara.

Read More Odisha News

Odisha will vote in the Lok Sabha elections and Assembly polls, which are being held simultaneously, in four phases. The polling will be held on May 13, 20, 25 and June 1.

The votes will be counted with the rest of the country on June 4.