"Thought to go into big ocean..." says former BJD leader after joining BJP

The BJP on Friday named Santosh Khatua as its candidate for Nilgiri assembly seat in Odisha's Balasore district, thus completing the process of announcing nominees for the simultaneous elections in the state.

Santosh Khatua, a former BJD leader who has been fielded by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from the Nilgiri Assembly seat in Odisha, said that he joined the ruling party at the centre as he did not want to remain in a "small pond". The BJP on Friday named Santosh Khatua as its candidate for Nilgiri assembly seat in Odisha's Balasore district, thus completing the process of announcing nominees for the simultaneous elections in the state.

Speaking to ANI after the BJP announced its candidature, Khatua dubbed Naveen Patnaik-led BJD a "small pond" unlike the BJP, which he called a "big ocean". "For the past 10 years, I have been working as a social worker. In 2019, I was given a ticket by BJD. BJP is the biggest central party. India's name is increasing in the world because of PM Narendra Modi. So I thought, why not go into the big ocean instead of staying in a small pond. So I joined the BJP. I got the ticket," Santosh Khatua said on Friday.

Santosh Khatua who lost the assembly elections as the BJD candidate, exuded his confidence in BJP securing a huge victory in the state elections. "This time, we will win," he added.

Khatua had on Thursday resigned from the BJD after being denied a party ticket from Nilgiri seat. He joined the BJP and was nominated by the BJP. In the 2019 polls, Khatua had contested for the seat as a BJD candidate but lost to BJP's Sukant Nayak. Odisha will go for simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly polls. Lok Sabha and assembly polls in the state will be held in four phases on May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1. Naveen Patnaik is seeking to steer the party for a sixth straight term in office in the assembly polls. The votes will be counted on June 4.

During the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, BJD, under the leadership of Naveen Patnaik, won 12 of the 21 seats. The BJP won eight seats and Congress got one seat. The BJD swept the Odisha assembly polls in 2019, winning 112 seats. BJP won 23 seats and Congress nine seats. (ANI)

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