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NEW DELHI: Ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections, Lekhasri Samantasinghar, BJP’s Odisha Vice President has submitted her resignation and announced her decision to join BJD . She was the second vice-president of the Odisha BJP after Bhrugu Paksipatra, who quit the party and joined the BJD a few weeks before the elections.
In her resignation letter addressed to Odisha BJP president Manmohan Samal, Lekhasri cited failure to win the confidence of the party leadership as the main reason for his resignation.
Lekhasri said in the letter,”I have given my sweat and blood to the Bharatiya Janata Party for the last ten years. However, despite all the sincerity and hard work, I could not earn the trust of the leadership. Hence, I feel there is nothing left for me to do here and my desire to serve the people of Odisha is being hampered.”
On Sunday, in presence of party MPs Manas Mangaraj and Sasmit Patra, Lekhasri joined the BJD. She added,” she thanked the BJD for its support and appreciated the development initiatives led by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik before reporters at the Sangha Bhavan in the state capital. My hard work is not recognized. Thanks to BJD for letting me in. I am impressed with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s development efforts. I will do my best for BJD.”
BJD is yet to announce its candidate for the Balasore Lok Sabha seat, leading to speculations regarding Lekhasri’s potential candidacy. Focusing on the representation of women in politics, the BJD fielded seven of the 21 women candidates in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The party has nominated only six women candidates thus far for the upcoming polls.
