Indus Valley Times

With the exit of Rajya Sabha MP, the BJD’s strength in the Upper House has been reduced to seven now 

By Nalini Sahu

Bhubaneswar, Sept. 8 : Mamata Mohanta, who recently quit the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and got elected to Rajya Sabha on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket, on Saturday said “discontentment” was growing in the Naveen Patnaik-led regional party and more leaders were contemplating to switch sides.

“I do not have any hesitation to say that most of the leaders and workers in BJD are dissatisfied over the autocratic functioning of the party. Over 80 per cent of BJD workers in Mayurbhanj, my home district, are dissatisfied as they were not given any importance within the party. Many other leaders may leave BJD in the near future like me and Sujeet Kumar,” said Mamata Mohanta on Saturday.

“Joining or leaving the party is a personal matter and I can’t say exactly about them. I had decided to leave the party for more than one and a half years. Some of the founder members of BJD are not with the party now. Some others are somehow managing to be in the party. When the time comes, you will know everything,” she added.

Mohanta, who was elected to the Upper House of the Parliament from Odisha on a BJD ticket in March 2020, was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha as a BJP member in less than a month after the act of party-hopping.

On Friday, another BJD Rajaya Sabha MP, Sujeet Kumar, had quit the membership of the Upper House and the party and joined the BJP.

Soon after joining the BJP, Sujeet Kumar made explosive remarks saying the BJD had lost internal democracy and a few leaders were running the organization with highhandedness. He also brought charges of corruption and tender-fixing against some of the influential party leaders.

Sujeet also said he would reveal the names of the BJD leaders who are involved in large-scale corruption, nepotism and tender-fixing.

With the exit of Rajya Sabha MP, the BJD’s strength in the Upper House has been reduced to seven now. In the last Lok Sabha polls, the regional party drew nil while the BJP got 20 of the 21 seats. The Congress was content with one seat only.

Meanwhile, BJD leader Sulata Deo said the party would in no way be affected by the exit of two Rajya Sabha members.

“Naveen Patnaik is still the most popular leader of Odisha. We would soon rework our strategy and reclaim our past glory,” said Deo.

After 24 years of uninterrupted rule, the BJD government headed by Naveen Patnaik was voted out of power early this year and the BJP formed the government in the state.