GUWAHATI: Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Rajya Sabha MP Debashish Samantaray resigned from the party’s primary membership on Monday, May 25, alleging that he was being “systematically belittled” within the organisation.
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In his resignation letter addressed to former Odisha Chief Minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik, Samantaray thanked the veteran leader for nominating him to the Rajya Sabha and giving him the opportunity to represent Odisha at the national level.
“I shall always remain indebted to you for nominating me to the Rajya Sabha and for allowing me to serve the people of undivided Cuttack district,” he stated in the letter.
A two-time MLA elected in 2009 and 2014, Samantaray was elected to the Rajya Sabha in April 2024. According to media sources it indicates that he is likely to join the BJP in the coming days.
His resignation comes months after former BJD Rajya Sabha MPs Sujeet Kumar and Mamata Mahanta left the party and were later elected to the Upper House on BJP tickets.
Samantaray had also been a vocal critic of former bureaucrat-turned-politician V. K. Pandian, who withdrew from active politics after the BJD’s defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha and Odisha Assembly elections.
