Odisha: Dilip, Bijay leave BJP

In a major jolt to the BJP ahead of 2019 elections, two senior leaders Dilip Ray and Bijay Mohapatra left the party. Ray and Mohapatra were continuing in the BJP on paper only as both of them had stopped attending party programmes since long. Ray had recently dropped hints that he will quit. The Rourkela MLA is reported to have decided to quit BJP as two of his major demands, the second bridge over Brahmani River and up gradation of Ispat General Hospital to a super specialty hospital in Rourkela have not been fulfilled.