Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Mamata Mohanta resigned from the party as well as her Rajya Sabha seat on Wednesday. The chairman of the Upper House has accepted her resignation.
Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar announced that he received Mohanta's resignation letter on Wednesday.
"She has resigned her seat by writing to the chairman under her hand and handed personally to me. The same I find to be constitutionally in order. I have accepted the resignation of Shrimati Mamata Mohanta, member representing the state of Odisha, with immediate effect," Dhankhar said.
As per PTI, she is likely to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Since the BJP has a majority in the Odisha assembly, the party's candidate is almost guaranteed to win the by-election that will be held after Mohanta's resignation.
In a letter to former Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik, Mohanta wrote, “I do hereby resign from the Primary Membership of Biju Janata Dal, today, i.e. 31st July, 2024. I sincerely express my gratitude to your good self for giving me an opportunity to serve the people of Mayurbhanj and also to take the cause of Odisha at the national level. However, I feel that there is no requirement of the services of myself as well as my community in the Biju Janata Dal. Therefore, I have taken this hard decision in the public interest. I request you to accept my resignation.”
In a post on X, she said, “That team does not feel the need for my services today. Since I am a leader of the people and their service is my main duty, I did not feel the need to be in that group. That's why I resigned from the primary membership of Biju Janata Dal and the post of Rajya Sabha member.”
{{/usCountry}}In a post on X, she said, “That team does not feel the need for my services today. Since I am a leader of the people and their service is my main duty, I did not feel the need to be in that group. That's why I resigned from the primary membership of Biju Janata Dal and the post of Rajya Sabha member.”
{{/usCountry}}Mohanta was elected unopposed for Rajya Sabha as one of four candidates for four seats from Odisha in 2020, OTV reported.