Odisha assembly dy speaker resigns, says he wants to prep for next year’s polls

Rajanikanth Singh said that he was unable to participate in BJD activities because he was holding a constitutional position

Published on: Nov 8, 2023, 18:57:36 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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BHUBANESWAR: Odisha assembly deputy speaker Rajanikanth Singh on Wednesday stepped down from the post, saying he was unable to participate in party activities ahead of the general elections next year.

Biju Janata Dal leader Rajanikanth Singh is speculated to be the BJD candidate from the Dhenkanal Lok Sabha seat (ANI videograb)

After submitting his resignation to speaker Pramila Mallick at the state assembly on Wednesday afternoon, Singh told reporters: “The deputy speaker’s post is a constitutional one, for which I was unable to participate in party activities. It was a pending decision. I tendered my resignation given the upcoming elections. It will facilitate me to strengthen the party organization and reach out to the people. Henceforth, I will work for the party and organisation. I want to strengthen the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in my region”.

There is buzz that Rajanikanth Singh may be the BJD’s Lok Sabha candidate from Dhenkanal in the 2024 elections.

Singh, who has been a member of the Odisha assembly since 2004, has been serving as deputy speaker since 2019. He represents the Angul assembly segment. Singh was also also the mines minister in Naveen Patnaik’s cabinet from 2012 to 2014.

Former assembly speaker Bikram Arukh resigned in May this year ahead of his induction into the council of ministers. Arukh has also been tasked to strengthen the BJD’s organisation in Ganjam, the home district of the chief minister where the party was facing some problems following the exit of former minister Pradip Panigrahy who was expelled from the party in connection with his arrest in a corruption case.

BJD leaders said Mahesh Sahoo, the party’s Lok Sabha MP from Dhenkanal, was unwilling to contest the 2024 elections and the party had been looking for a strong candidate as his replacement. BJD leaders said it was possible that union education and skill development minister Dharmendra Pradhan may be fielded from Dhenkanal in 2024. Rajanikanth Singh’s father AP Singh had been a forest and environment minister in cabinets led by Biju Patnaik as well as Naveen Patnaik.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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