Bhubaneswar, July 8: Senior leader Pravat Ranjan Biswal will join Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on July 12, sources said.

While there has been no official confirmation from either Biswal or the BJP leadership, discussions surrounding his potential political move have gathered momentum. The possibility has drawn significant attention given his organisational experience, public profile, and grassroot leadership style.

Sources said, Biswal, who was expelled from the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on February 28, will join the saffron party at State party headquarters in a ‘Mishran Parba’ in the presence of BJP national president Nitin Nabin. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, party Odisha unit president Manmohan Samal, Rajya Sabha MP Dilip Ray and other senior leaders will attend the joining ceremony.

Now, all eyes are on the BJD councilors of Choudwar Municipality and corporators of Kataka Municipal Corporation (KMC) to see whether they will follow Biswal and join the saffron party.

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In February, Biswal, a three-time MLA was expelled from the BJD for indiscipline and anti-party activities by openly opposing the candidature of Santrupt Misra, political secretary to party president Naveen Patnaik, for Rajya Sabha election in February.

The BJD in Kataka district, most particularly in the Kataka-Barabati Assembly constituency received a major jolt recently after Rajya Sabha MP Debashish Samantray quit the party also the Rajya Sabha seat and join the BJP. He was re-elected to the Upper House on the BJP ticket.

If Biswal joins the BJP, it would not only pose a political threat to BJD but also create political storm within BJP with party’s senior leader Nayan Kishore Mohanty leading the party from the front in Kataka-Choudwar area since a long.