BHUBANESWAR: Exodus continues from the
BJD as its
Kandhamal MP
Pratyusha Rajeshwari Singh and Daspalla MLA Purna
Chandra Nayak resigned from the party after they were denied tickets for the forthcoming general and assembly elections.
“A party that has been so vocal about women empowerment has failed me miserably. My hard work and dedication have been rendered futile,” Pratyusha noted in her resignation letter to BJD president Naveen Patnaik.
BJD roped in KIIT and KISS founder
Achyuta Samanta as the replacement for Pratyusha in Kandhamal parliamentary segment.
As the BJD fielded Ramesh Behera in Daspalla denying ticket to Nayak, the outgoing MLA said the party gave ticket to a corrupt leader in his place. Nayak is likely to join BJP.
Earlier, two sitting MLAs—Sukant Nayak (Nilagiri) and Trinath Gomango (Gunupur) and Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi also left the BJD. Majhi has already switched to BJP camp recently.
Also, BJD’s former Paralakhemundi MLA K Narayan Rao, who resigned from the party on Tuesday opposing nomination of royal scion Kalyani Devi from Paralakhemundi, joined BJP here in presence of Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan and state unit president Basanta Panda.