Bhubanewar, Apr 6 (IANS): Former Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Ramesh Chandra Sai, the sitting MLA from Athamallik assembly segment under the Sambalpur Lok Sabha constituency in Odisha, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday.

Sai, along with his supporters, joined the party in the presence of senior BJP leader and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Sai had tendered his resignation from the primary membership of BJD on Thursday, protesting against the party's decision to field Nalini Kanta Pradhan from the Athamallik seat.

Several other leaders, including two young Congress leaders, on Friday joined the BJP at the party's state office in Bhubaneswar.

Meanwhile, senior BJP leader and former MLA from Pallahara constituency Rabi Narayan Pani walked out of the party on Friday alleging negligence.

"Of late, I have understood that there is no place for ethics and principle in the present day of politics. Any one is being given all sorts of power and responsibility by you people by overlooking senior and sincere people like us who are forced to sit idle like silent spectators. Hence, I prefer to resign from the primary membership of the party with immediate effect," Pani wrote in a letter to Odisha BJP chief Manmohan Samal.