New Delhi: Former minister, former MLA and BJD’s expelled leader Dr.Damodar Rout joined BJP, here on Thursday.

Dr Rout joined the saffron party at the party’s headquarter here in the presence of union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Odisha-in-charge Arun Singh, BJP Legislative Party leader KV Singhdeo and former BJD MP Baijayanta Panda.

Rout, a minister in the Naveen Patnaik cabinet, was dropped from the ministry and subsequently expelled from the party in September 2018 for his anti-party activities. A veteran politician, he was representing Paradip assembly constitutency