Bhubaneswar: The BJD on Friday suspended president Nalini Prabha Jena and vice president Ganeswar Baral of Zilla Parisad in Odisha’s Jajpur district, for his alleged involvement in anti-party activities.
This came a day after two sitting MLAs, Arvind Sanatan Mahakud and Arabinda Mahapatra, were suspended for similar offence.
These suspensions followed BJD president Naveen Patnaik’s three rounds of meetings with party MLAs since January 12. He met a total of 29 legislators. The two legislators were suspended on the same day as the third meeting, which was attended by 10 MLAs, indicating at the seriousness of the exercise.
These meetings were meant not only to hear their views but also to assess the situation within the party, according to party sources.
Mahakud, a two-time MLA and Odisha’s wealthiest legislator, was rebuked by Naveen Patnaik in February last year for skipping a legislature party meeting. The BJD supremo had then questioned whether Mahakud was attending the assembly solely to meet Chief Minister Mohan Majhi. Later, the MLA publicly criticised the former BJD government during an event held in Majhi’s presence.
Mahakud said he was not surprised by the move.
On the other hand, Mahapatra’s suspension is being linked to his father Bijay Mahapatra’s meetings with dissident BJD leaders to create a third front by breaking up the party, which was ousted from power in 2024 after governing the state for over two decades.
While Mahapatra’s suspension evoked mixed repose in his Assembly constituency, BJD leader Dibya Shankar Mishra asserted that the decision was taken by the party leadership after careful deliberation and based on solid facts and evidence. Former Mahakalapada MLA and senior BJD leader Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak also welcomed Naveen’s decision. “BJD will not tolerate corruption and anti-party activities,” he said.
In a statement, BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty said Naveen “never tolerates corrupt traitors” and that both MLAs had breached the party’s constitution and guidelines. “The Biju Janata Dal is India’s most successful regional party, with more than 1 crore dedicated members. Party members must strictly adhere to the party constitution and directives,” he noted.
Reacting to his suspension from the party, the first-time MLA, who joined the BJD around 18 months ago ahead of the 2024 Assembly election, said: “I do not know what anti-party activities I have done. I will have to discuss with the party leadership to find out the exact reasons.”
Incidentally earlier this month, senior leaders of BJD from Jajpur district held a meeting at the official residence of MLA Pramila Mallik in Bhubaneswar, sparking speculation about internal issues within the party.
