Bhubaneswar, April 12 (IANS): Former MLA and ex-Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Kailash Chandra Kulesika on Friday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) here along with his supporters in the presence of state unit BJP president Manmohan Samal and other senior leaders.

Kulesika had resigned from BJD after being denied the ticket to contest from Laxmipur Assembly segment.

BJD president and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday renominated Prabhu Jani for the Laxmipur Assembly seat.

Kulesika had been elected to Odisha Assembly after winning from Laxmipur constituency on a Congress ticket in 2014.

He lost to BJD's Jani by a very small margin of just 229 votes in the 2019 general elections.

Kulesika later quit the Congress and joined the ruling BJD in 2021.

A disgruntled Kulesika walked out of BJD a few hours after the party fielded Jani from the seat on Thursday.

While speaking to mediapersons, Kulesika said that the BJD betrayed him by denying a ticket from Laxmipur.

Kulesika also stated that he was hopeful of getting a ticket from BJD in 2024 but all his hopes were shattered.

"It is very unfortunate that the BJD high command did not fulfil the promise given to me when I joined the party in 2021. So, I along with supporters, joined the BJP," said Kulesika.

Kulesika also alleged that the BJD had offered him Rs 1 crore and the post of advisor for the Special Development Council (SDC) to remain in the party.