Bhubaneswar, Feb 2: The ruling Biju Janata Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party coalition in Orissa today strengthened its house by revoking the suspension of 45 rebel leaders.

Twenty-nine leaders of the BJD, including six MLAs and 16 of the BJP, including a legislator, were suspended in April last year during the Assembly elections.

BJP state president Jual Oram said the decision was taken in a meeting with chief minister Naveen Patnaik. The party rebels included Rudramadhab Ray, Rajendra Dholakia, Md Ayub Khan, Bijoylaxmi Patnaik, Saroj Padhi, Saharai Oram, Sachidananda Dalal, Badri Patra, Manas Ranjan Mallick, Murari Prasad Mishra and Kumar Behera of the BJD and Bidhubhusan Praharaj and Ramaranjan Baliar Singh of the BJP.

?We decided to remove the expulsion order so that they can come back and work hard for the party,? the chief minister said soon after the announcement. Khan, Padhi, Dholakia, Patnaik, Biswal, Ray and Baliar Singh are all members of the legislative Assembly.

However, the BJD has not taken back Bhajaman Behera, who has been a minister in the V.P. Singh government. He contested the 2004 Lok Sabha elections from Dhenkanal as a Samjwadi Party candidate without informing the BJD leadership.

Following today?s development, the BJD?s strength in the 147-member Assembly has gone up to 67. Similarly, the BJP?s number has risen to 32.

Other prominent BJD rebels in the 2004 elections were Ramakrishna Patnaik and Nalinikanta Mohanty. In the parliamentary elections, George Tirkey (BJD, Sundargarh), Upendranath Nayk (BJP, Keonjhar) and Balgopal Mishra (BJP, Bolangir) were the most prominent rebels.

In last year?s Assembly elections, about a hundred rebel leaders from the BJD, BJP and Congress were in the fray accounting for one-eighth of the total number of contestants. The BJD had the maximum (35), followed by the Congress (32) and the BJP (28).