Bhubaneswar, May 28 -- Senior politician Debashish Samantaray on Thursday launched a sharp attack on the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and VK Pandian after joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He alleged that he felt "suffocated" within the regional party and was denied access to BJD president Naveen Patnaik.

Addressing a press conference after joining the BJP, Samantaray said he originally belonged to the NDA and now felt as though he had "returned home". In response, the BJD accused him of falling into a "trap" and questioned why he had remained in the party for so long if he truly felt sidelined.

Samantaray alleged that he was abruptly prevented from visiting Naveen Nivas and claimed that Naveen Patnaik had earlier clarified that VK Pan...