New Delhi: Odisha MLA Prakash Chandra Behera joined the BJP on Sunday after being with the Congress for 20 years.
Behera, who represents Cuttack's Salepur constituency, quit the Congress on Saturday.
Joining the BJP during a party press conference here, he said, "I have faith in Narendra Modi's leadership and the youngsters in my constituency are really impressed with the government's decision of carrying out surgical strikes."
He added that he quit the Congress because he was ignored by the party's state leadership.
Reacting to the move, Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that Behera's presence will help the party bring about changes in Odisha under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership.
With inputs from PTI