Ex-Lok Sabha member Arka Keshari Deo rejoins BJP

By Ramesh Agrawal

Bhubaneswar, Sept. 27: Ex-Lok Sabha member from Kalahandi, Arka Keshari Deo, on Wednesday returned to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fold after staying away from the saffron camp for about 10 years.

Sources said the young leader joined the BJP along with his wife Malvika Devi in Bhubaneswar in the presence of senior leaders of the party, including BJP state president Manmohan Samal, Kalahandi MP Basant Kumar Panda and many others at the inclusion ceremony held here at the party headquarters.

Arka Keshari had joined Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in 2013 after the death of his father Bikram Keshari Deo.

Arka Keshari was elected to the 16th Lok Sabha in 2014 from Kalahandi on a BJD ticket. Subsequently, he resigned from the ruling party in 2019. The ruling party had fielded former Minister Pushpendra Singhdeo in 2019 general elections. However, BJP candidate and former state president of the party Basant Panda won the seat.