Bhubaneswar, March 26 -- Hours after quitting the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Purna Chandra Sethy, the former MLA of Khallikote in Ganjam district, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday. He cited being sidelined by the party as the reason for his departure.

"BJP is a party of democratic setup. So I have joined this party. I was suffocating in BJD. We needed a prior appointment to meet that one person (hinting at Naveen Patnaik). We were made to wait for days together to get a glance of him. So, you all understand which party stands for democracy and which party for autocracy. I don't want to say anything further," Sethy said after joining BJP.

"Former MLA Purna Chandra Sethy has joined our party with his councillors. I welcome hi...