Taking to Twitter, BJP leader Baijayant Jay Panda wrote that he was travelling on Sunday and therefore missed the "radar-Modi" controversy.

In the 19 years that Naveen has been in power, no leader has won a direct election after falling out with the BJD supremo.

Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik accused former BJD MP Jay Panda of spreading rumours about his ill-health.

Panda, a four-time member of Parliament, was elected to the Lok Sabha from Kendrapara constituency of Odisha in 2014. He was suspended from the BJD for "anti-party activities" on January 24, 2018.

There is little doubt that Panda is a good ‘catch’ for the saffron party in Odisha ahead of the elections.

Panda met BJP chief Amit Shah and joined the party at its office in the national capital.

Behind Naveen’s soft exterior lies a shrewd, clinical politician who is not necessarily nice. So the outrage over Iyer-Mitra’s detention should be directed against Naveen.

Abhijit Iyer-Mitra had allegedly made derogatory remarks against Odisha’s Konark temple during a recent trip to the state in the company of Baijayant Jay Panda, former MP of the ruling BJD.

Baijayant 'Jay' Panda, who had flown in his own helicopter along with Abhijit Iyer-Mitra and another Delhi-based journalist last week, had strong alibis backed with documentary evidence to disprove the police case.

Journalist Abhijit Iyer-Mitra is in the eye of a storm for a series of tweets and statements that make fun of Odisha, its people and some of the revered symbols of Odia pride like the Sun Temple and the Lord Jagannath temple in Puri.