In Odisha, all the four MLAs of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) have joined the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD).

The NCP legislators, Amar Prasad Satpathy, Prasant Nanda, Naveen Nanda and Ramchandra Hansda, joined BJD after holding talks with Chief Minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik.

The merger of NCP legislative party with the BJD has increased the ruling party's strength in Odisha from 104 to 108 in the 147-member Odisha Legislative Assembly.

The four NCP MLAs have said that there was no pre-condition for joining the BJD. The NCP had fought the 2009 assembly elections in Odisha as an ally of the BJD.