Voices Of Dissent: MLA Aspirants Quit BJD Over Ticket Denial

Bhubaneswar: After Soro MLA Parshuram Dhada, ticket denial saw three more BJD leaders quitting the party ahead of elections in Odisha.

Asit Patnaik, son of five-time Bhadrak MLA, has resigned from the primary membership of the BJD, putting an end to his 15-year-old association with the party. “I have even sacrificed my political aspirations for the interest and growth of BJD. In 2019 elections, the party ignored me and fielded a new face in Bhadrak assembly seat. Though it was an act of injustice since my father was the sitting MLA of Bhadrak, I did not raise any voice of dissent, being a loyal worker of BID,” he wrote to BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

“But in 2024, the party once again gave me the cold shoulder and nominated a candidate who is facing corruption charges and is accused of swindling crores of rupees collected from students as college fees. So it is natural to believe that there is no place for a disciplined worker like me in the party. Therefore, I have decided to resign from the party.”

Asit, who is the former chairman of Odisha Pisciculture Development Corporation Limited, added that he would continue to work for the people of Bhadrak.

Also Read: Odisha Elections 2024: BJD Releases 2nd List Of 27 Assembly Candidates; Repeats Dipali, Rewards Adhiraj

After quitting Congress, Jugal Patnaik had won the 2009 and 2014 elections from Bhadrak on BJP ticket. The party, however, replaced him with Sanjib Kumar Mallick in 2019. Swapping seats, the BJD has nominated senior leader and 3-time MLA from Bhandaripokhar Prafulla Samal from Bhadrak Assembly segment this time.

Samal had hogged limelight following ED raid on his properties in February in connection with the alleged Bhadrak Institute of Engineering and Technology land scam case.

The Soro MLA had also resigned from the primary membership of BJD soon after the party announced Madhab Dhada as its candidate from the constituency on Tuesday.

Former Phulbani MLA Debendra Kanhar and former Jagatsinghpur district president Amarendra Das too have quit the regional party. Debendra was a ticket aspirant from Phulbani Assembly seat, which he had won in 2009, but the party chose Jayshree Kanhar over him.

Amarendra’s resignation is being seen as a protest against the BJD’s decision to give ticket to sitting MLA Prasant Muduli for Jagatsingpur Assembly seat. The party had managed to appease Amarendra by awarding the district president post during the 2019 polls. Later, he was dropped from the post with Muduli taking charge and appointed as chairman of Cashew Development Corporation.

In January, Amarendra had organised a massive Karmi Samilan, and get-together in Jagatsinghpur headquarters, which was attended by detractors of the sitting MLA.