In the first setback to Biju Janata Dal (BJD) after electoral drubbing in June 2024 simultaneous polls, the regional party’s sitting Rajya Sabha member Mamata Mohanta on Wednesday tendered her resignation from the upper house and quit the regional party saying that the party did not require her services.

“I have resigned from Rajya Sabha today. I have sent a resignation letter to BJD president Naveen Patnaik. He had provided me the opportunity to serve the state and the Mayurbhanj district by nominating me to Rajya Sabha. Today, BJD no longer requires my service. I did not think about remaining in BJD as I am the people’s leader serving them. That’s why, I resigned from the primary membership of BJD and from the Rajya Sabha member,” Mohanta stated in the ‘X’ handle.

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48-year-old Mohanta, a leader of the Kudumi tribal community in Odisha, was elected unopposed to the upper house as a member of the Biju Janata Dal in 2020.

The BJD, which ruled the state in uninterrupted sequences for 24 years under the leadership of Naveen Patnaik, was voted out of power in the last polls paving the way for the maiden BJP Government in the state. The regional party came a cropper and was completely wiped out in LS polls as it did not manage to win a single seat.

Since losing the twin polls, an undercurrent of dissent is showing signs of infecting the regional party. However it did not come to the fore as party president Patnaik’s grip in the party still remained unchallenged. It’s for the first time that a leader revolted against the party in the wake of a poor poll show.

The unexpected resignation of Mohanta both from the RS and BJD at a time when she had two-year more stint left in the upper house has taken political circles here for surprise. Analysts tend to believe that she may have taken the drastic step at the behest of BJP leadership. With BJP enjoying majority in Odisha Assembly, the seat vacated by Mohanta is all set to go into the saffron party’s pocket.