Bhubaneswar: Ina major embarrassment for the Opposition BJD, two sons and the sister of six-time MLA Prafulla Samal joined the BJP on Saturday. Samal’s sons Prayaskanti and Pranitkanti, along with his sister Urmila Nayak, joined the BJP at its State headquarters here in the presence of the party’s State unit president Manmohan Samal and other leaders.

Prayaskanti Samal was a former chairperson of Bhadrak municipality and a State secretary of the BJD, while Urmila Nayak is the chairperson of Bhadrak Sadar block (Panchayat Samiti). They joined the saffron party along with their supporters.

Prafulla Samal, a former minister, was not available for comment on the development. Besides, the BJD’s block presidents of Bhadrak, Bont, Bhandaripokhari and Basudevpur also joined the BJP. Nearly 30 sarpanches and 35 Panchayat Samiti members in Bhadrak district also joined the party.