Bhubaneswar: In a jolt to the BJP, party's Bargarh district president Narayan Sahu resigned from the post as well as primary membership of the party and decided to join BJD.

In his resignation letter to BJP's state president Basant Panda, Sahu has cited his resentment over the party's work in the district as the reason for his step.

Later in the day, Sahu visited Naveen Nivas-- residence of Chief Minister and BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik-- for a meeting with the latter, following which he informed that he will join the conch party on December 3.

"There is no value of sacrifice in the BJP. I worked in the party from 1997 to 2017 and earned no praise for it. With a feeling of 'suffocation', I resigned from the party. I joined BJD being inspired by the ideology of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. I will formally join BJD in Bijepur on December 3," said Sahu speaking to reporters.

"I will also support Rita Sahu, BJD’s candidate for Bijepur assembly constituency bypoll," Sahu added.

On the other hand, Basant Panda said Sahu has been expelled from BJP after his inclination towards the BJD. The BJP has appointed its general secretary Dr. Arupananda Sahu as the party's Bargarh district president, he said.

Similarly, BJP spokesperson Sajjan Sharma said, "It is being heard that there is a criminal case against Narayan Sahu's son in Bargarh district. Sahu might have joined BJD in order to escape from the trouble."

Countering Sharma, BJD spokesperson Prashanta Nanda said BJP's Suresh Pujari had earlier stated that Narayan Sahu is party's best candidate for Bijepur by-poll. Wasn't Pujari aware of the criminal case against Sahu's son while saying so, Nanda asked.

Worth mentioning, last month Sahu had offered to resign from his post ahead of the Bijepur by-poll after former Bijepur MLA and BJD leader Ashok Panigrahi joined BJP at a special function in Barpali in the presence of two union ministers-- Dharmendra Pradhan and Jual Oram.