Ranchi, February 15 Former Jharkhand minister and three-time legislator, Dulal Bhuiyan, along with his supporters, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday, a party official said.
State BJP president, Aditya Sahu, and Leader of Opposition, Babulal Marandi, welcomed him into the party during a programme in Ranchi.
Bhuiyan stated that he had left the JMM because the party is not as it was two decades ago, during the time of former chief minister, Shibu Soren.
"We were the loyal followers of the late Shibu Soren and participated in Jharkhand movements. But now, the JMM has become Hemant Soren's property. There is no respect left for leaders like us in the party," he said.
Responding to the development, JMM general secretary, Vinod Pandey, said that Bhuiyan was not currently a member of the party.
After losing the 2009 assembly elections, Bhuiyan had joined several parties including the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik), Congress, and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), he added.
"The BJP is a party of ideology, not of family. Its resolution is Antyodaya, its aim is to bring smiles on the faces of the Dalits, the exploited, the deprived, and the backward sections of society," Sahu added.
Marandi said that Dulal Bhuiyan is not just an individual but the voice of the Dalits, and his joining the BJP will further strengthen the party's hold in the Dalit community.