Biju Janata Dal’s (BJD) Rajya Sabha MP Debashish Samantaray on Tuesday resigned from the post of vice president of the Senior Citizen Cell.
In a letter to party president and former chief minister Naveen Patnaik, Samantray wrote that the rank of vice president was demeaning and humiliating for him.
“I doubt that there is any place for loyalists of legendary Biju Babu or your loyalists, who have stood like rock behind your long and illustrious political career. Now our party has a new line of thought, ideology and action deviated from the Biju legacy that you epitomize. After careful introspection, I feel rather disappointed despite my unflinching loyalty for you,” his letter to Patnaik said.
Samantaray also questioned the lack of remedial measures taken by the party after the 2024 state polls debacle.
“Since our electoral poll debacle last year, following the post electoral scenario, the party has failed to accept the cause or to take remedial measures. Strangely the reason is on the lips of every worker and supporter of the party, besides our desperate submissions, the party has struggled to accept the reality. Wins and losses are natural to elections. However, we lost despite a popular Chief Minister. Every BJD cadre and leader, whether they speak out or not, know the cause behind our defeat in 2024 and earnestly hope that you will thwart any attempt being made to weaken our party, almost as if, there is a design to it. I request your personal attention to tide over the present situation in the party”, he wrote.
Also Read: BJP wins Nuapada bypoll with a vote margin of 83,000, BJD slips to third place
{{/usCountry}}Also Read: BJP wins Nuapada bypoll with a vote margin of 83,000, BJD slips to third place
{{/usCountry}}“Most humbly I submit sir, I am unable to accept the responsibility IN THE RANK OF VICE PRESIDENT of Senior Citizens Cell. I will always remain merely a worker of BJD and will always remain committed to the Biju-Naveen line of thought and action”, he said.
The BJD lost the 2024 Odisha assembly polls after 24 years. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 78 seats while the BJD got 51 seats, Congress won 13, CPM one seat and the remaining three went to independents.
On November 14, BJP candidate Jay Dholakia won the Nuapada Assembly bypoll in Odisha, defeating his nearest Congress rival Ghasiram Majhi by a margin of 83,748 votes. The state’s main Opposition, BJD, which had won the seat in the 2024 polls, was pushed to the third position.
The bypoll, necessitated by the death of four-term BJD MLA Rajendra Dholakia on September 8.
There was no immediate response from the BJD, and the copy will be updated whenever it is received.