Baijayant Jay Panda, who quit Odisha's ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) last year, is likely to join the BJP shortly, sources said on Monday. Jay Panda, 55, quit the BJD last May after a bitter falling out with his party chief, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. The owner of a large conglomerate with interests in mining, power and real estate, Jay Panda had been a parliamentarian of the BJD since 2000 and had been among the party's most prominent leaders from Odisha.
