Six-time Cuttack MP Bhartruhari Mahtab joins BJP days after quitting BJD

In a big setback to the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on the eve of the Lok Sabha elections, its founding member and six-time Cuttack Lok Sabha MP Bhartruhari Mahtab joined the BJP here on Thursday.

Mahtab, 67, joined the BJP in the presence of senior leaders at the party headquarters here.

Mahtab retained the Cuttack Lok Sabha seat, defeating the BJP's Prakash Mishra with a huge margin of votes in 2019 Lok Sabha polls. He had contested the parliamentary elections on the BJD ticket.