Interview Times 
On Wednesday, former BJD leader and three-time MLA, Pradeep Panigrahi joined the BJP. Panigrahi represented Gopalpur seats that come in Ganjam district which has 2 Lok Sabha and 13 assembly seats when general elections and assembly polls are around the corner, the entrance of Panigrahi into the party is considered a significant move for BJP in the state.
According to the media reports, the leader was evicted from BJD for an alleged case of cheating, also Panigrahi was considered as the close associate of Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik in BJD.
Panigrahi is the ground leader who has years of experience in grassroots-level politics, his comprehension of local politics will help the BJP to play better in the upcoming assembly elections. In the last general elections of 2019, among all the 21 Lok Sabha seats, BJD won 12, BJP won 8 seats and 1 seat went to INC.
