India, May 26 -- A day after resigning from the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), former Rajya Sabha MP and senior politician Debashish Samantaray on Tuesday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in New Delhi, saying he was deeply influenced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his vision for a developed India.

Samantaray joined the BJP at the party headquarters in the presence of BJP national general secretary Arun Singh, Odisha BJP in-charge Vijay Pal Singh Tomar and Odisha BJP president Manmohan Samal. Later, he was felicitated by BJP National President Nitin Nabin in the presence of Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi and other senior leaders.

Speaking after joining the saffron party, Samantaray thanked Prime Mini...