Bhubaneswar: Prakash Behera, former MLA from Salepur in Odisha’s Cuttack district, on Thursday resigned from Biju Janata Dal (BJD).
Behera, in a letter to BJD president and former chief minister Naveen Patnaik, said he was resigning from the party after giving much thought into the matter. Behera had contested from Barabati-Cuttack constituency in the district on BJD ticket in the last Assembly elections in the state.
Behere had won from Salepur Assembly seat on a Congress ticket in 2014. But he quit the Congress and joined BJP before 2019 elections in the state. He resigned from the saffron party before 2024 elections and joined BJD and allotted the party ticket for Barabati-Cuttack seat.
Behera lost the election with Congress candidate Sofia Firdous winning from the constituency with comfortable margin. Sofia is the daughter of senior Congress leader Mohammed Moquim. Behera came third in the contest.
Behera has not announced whether he would go back to BJP nor decided his next course of action. But he mentioed in his resignation letter that he would continue to work for the people in Barabati-Cuttack constituency.