Once again a major political development has taken place in the politics of Odisha. Biju Janata Dal (BJD), which lost power to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has suffered another major setback. Senior party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Debashish Samantrai resigned from the primary membership of the party on Monday. He was counted among the leaders close to party chief Naveen Patnaik. Sources say that he may soon join BJP.
While resigning from the party, bureaucrat-turned-politician Samantrai alleged that he was being deliberately ignored and humiliated within the party. He says that now the party no longer needs his services. His resignation has come when two other Rajya Sabha MPs (Sujit Kumar and Mamta Mahanta) also left the party a few months ago. Sujit and Mamta later joined BJP and were elected to Rajya Sabha on the party ticket.
What was written in the letter to Naveen Patnaik
He was elected MLA twice (2009 and 2014). The party sent him to the Upper House of Parliament (Rajya Sabha). He expressed his gratitude to Naveen Patnaik for nominating him to Rajya Sabha. He was elected to Rajya Sabha in April 2024. Earlier, Samantrai had resigned from the post of vice president of the party’s senior citizen cell in November 2025. Even at that time he had expressed dissatisfaction with the functioning of the party.
In his resignation letter written to BJD chief Naveen Patnaik, he expressed gratitude for sending him to Rajya Sabha. He said that he would always be grateful for the opportunity he got to serve the people of undivided Cuttack district and raise the issues of Odisha at the national level.
He said in his letter, “I have always worked with full dedication and honesty in the interest of the party. But for some time now, I have been feeling that I am being systematically weakened within the party and my need is no longer considered. Therefore, in the public interest, I have taken this difficult decision. I request all of you to accept my resignation.”
What is the main reason for resignation from the party?
Although Samantrai did not clearly give any major reason behind his resignation, many reasons are being discussed in the political circles. These include BJD’s stance on Waqf Bill, V.K. in the organization. Dissatisfaction with Pandian’s growing influence, and not being able to get time to meet Naveen Patnaik despite repeated attempts, are being said to be the major reasons.
Apart from this, issues like displeasure over indiscipline in the party, demand for giving more opportunities to young leaders, nomination of Satrat Mishra for Rajya Sabha and making BJD parliamentary party leader Manas Mangaraj are also being considered as the reasons for his displeasure.
#WATCH | Delhi: Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Rajya Sabha MP Debasish Samantray resigns from the party.
He says, “This morning, I sent a letter of resignation from my primary membership to the BJD President, Naveen Patnaik. I outlined certain reasons in that letter. Then, I went to pic.twitter.com/6Ltv9eoE1R
— ANI (@ANI) May 25, 2026
I have no future in BJD: Samantrai
Regarding resignation, Samantrai said, “This morning, I have sent a letter of resignation from my primary membership to BJD chief Naveen Patnaik. In that letter, I have given some reasons. After this, I went to tender my resignation from the Rajya Sabha seat. I felt that I have no future in BJD, because the party is still working under the leadership of VK Pandian.”
He also said, “Naveen Patnaik is not ready to accept that the main reason for the electoral defeat of the Biju Janata Dal and the subsequent weakening and decline of the organization is entirely Pandian. Handing over such a huge political responsibility to a non-politician is bound to damage the credibility of the Biju Janata Dal and cause huge losses. Yet, Naveen Babu has been continuously protecting and patronizing this person.”
On whether he would join the BJP, he said, “Well, being a politician, we naturally keep some options open. You will know very soon when I will join.” His resignation is being considered an important blow for BJD. This development has come to light at a time when speculations regarding his next political move have intensified.
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