Bhubaneswar: After being denied a ticket by the BJP for the forthcoming elections in Odisha, former BJD leader Debasis Nayak joined the Congress party here today.

The senior political leader joined the Indian National Congress in the presence of Odisha Congress in-charge Ajoy Kumar and other leaders including former OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik at a programme in Bhubaneswar.

"The party has been fighting for causes on different occasions before independence. The Gandhi family has given its blood to the country. Today, the political system has been destroyed," Nayak said after joining the Congress.

Revealing the reason behind his resignation from the BJD, he said, "The party was formed for a good cause. Over time, the ethics of the party were diluted. I felt suffocated being a member of the party."

Targeting the BJD, he said that the ruling party is not functioning transparently.

"Even the journalists are not allowed inside secretariat. The leaders in the ruling party prefer to invite outside media for their publicity, ignoring Odia media channels," he said.

Recently, the four-time MLA had resigned from the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). After the party denied him to give a ticket, he announced to contest the election as an independent candidate from Bari Assembly seat in Jajpur district.

Nayak was the MLA representing Bari Assembly Constituency from 2000 to 2019. He was the minister in Naveen Patnaik's government. However, the party had not given him ticket in 2019 elections.