BJD not the sole star, popular state actors gravitate towards BJP in Odisha

For many popular Odia film stars who have transitioned to politics, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) that has been the ruling party in the state for two decades used to be the first choice, with many also getting elected to the state Assembly or Parliament. But ahead of the simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in Odisha, almost all of them have switched to the BJP, with Kendrapara MP Anubhav Mohanty the latest to jump ship on Monday.

Mohanty, who became the youngest Rajya Sabha member in 2014, was elected to the Lok Sabha in 2019 from the Kendrapara Lok Sabha seat. He joined the BJP in New Delhi in the presence of party national general secretary Vinod Tawde, and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership had inspired him to join the party.

In 2019, Mohanty had been a giant-killer, defeating BJP national vice-president Baijayant (Jay) Panda — who had defected from the BJD a couple of years prior — by over 1.53 lakh votes from Kendrapara. While Panda has been renominated on the seat by the BJP, Mohanty is likely to contest his first Assembly election. The BJD has named former MLA Anshuman Mohanty, who recently defected from the Congress, as its candidate from Kendrapara.

Mohanty, who had been involved in a long-running marital discord with his actress wife Varsha Priyadarshini, was strategically sidelined by the BJD from all political activities for the past four years. In December last year, the Orissa High Court granted him divorce, ending a long and bitter legal battle.

Another popular actor-turned-politician Siddhant Mohaptra, a two-time MP from Berhampur, joined the BJP last week, while former Korei MLA Akash Das Nayak, another popular actor, did so Sunday. Both are Assembly ticket aspirants. Both Siddhant and Akash