Veteran Odia actor Mahasweta Ray joins BJP

New Delhi, Feb 12: Veteran Odia actor Mahasweta Ray Monday joined the ruling party BJP in the presence of senior leaders, including Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, at the party headquarters here in Bhubaneswar.

"I joined the BJP as I was influenced by the ideology of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I do not know anything about the ideology of chief minister Naveen Patnaik," Ray said.

Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister Pradhan said that, The BJP is happy to have Ray in the party adn added that she will help strengthen the party’s base in the state.

Earlier in the last month. Two other popular Odia actors Mihir Das and Anu Choudhury had joined the saffron party.

Ray, one of the acclaimed actors of Odia film industry, has worked in Bengali films too.

She recently ruffled feathers in the industry by questioning the choices of the jury members of the 28th State Films Awards.