"I am delighted that some Christian leaders including Father Dibakar Parichha have joined the BJD. They will be tremendous help for the party," Patnaik told reporters after receiving the minority leaders at Naveen Niwas.
Sasmit Patra of Odisha Minority Forum was along the several Christian leaders who are said to work for the ruling party in the coming elections.
Sources said most of the Christian leaders who joined the BJD today work in communally sensitive Kandhamal district. Though the leaders of opposition Congress and BJP have earlier joined the BJD, this is for the first time that leaders of any religious group threw their support behind any political party.
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