Bhartruhari Mahtab, Sidhant Mohapatra and Damayanti Beshra joins BJP

New Delhi/Bhubaneswar: Six-time Member of Parliament from Cuttack, Bhartruhari Mahtab, former Berhampur MP and actor Sidhant Mohapatra, along with acclaimed Santali writer Damayanti Beshra, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the party’s headquarters in Delhi on Thursday.

The induction ceremony was attended by BJP national general secretary Vinod Tawde, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, national vice president Baijayant Panda, and party state president Manmohan Samal.

Bhartruhari Mahtab, a stalwart figure in Odisha politics representing Cuttack since 1998, parted ways with the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on March 22, citing concerns over what he described as the dominance of ‘Asura Shakti’ within the party and government.

Sidhant Mohapatra, a prominent actor who ventured into politics by joining the Biju Janata Dal in 2009, represented the Berhampur Lok Sabha constituency. His successful stints in the 2009 and 2014 general elections were followed by his replacement with Chandra Sekhar Sahu in the 2019 elections by the BJD.

Damayanti Beshra, a revered figure in Odia and Santali literature, joined the BJP ranks. Renowned for her contributions to Santali language and literature, she was honored with the prestigious Padma Shri award in 2020.