Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and a prominent face of the party from southern Odisha, Bhrugu Baxipatra, on Wednesday resigned from the primary membership of the party with a ‘heavy heart’ a week after being denied ticket to fight Lok Sabha polls from Berhampur parliamentary constituency.
Baxipatra, who unsuccessfully fought the 2019 LS polls on BJP ticket, said “with a heavy heart, I am resigning from the primary membership of BJP”.
“For the past 23 years, I have wholeheartedly worked for the growth of the party. I have shouldered all the responsibility bestowed upon me by the party with sincerity and diligence”, Baxipatra wrote in a letter to Odisha BJP unit President Manmohan Samal.
“Of late, I began to realise that the party does not require my services any more. Still I have made up my mind to go ahead to serve the people and work towards the development of Odisha”, he added.
The BJP has nominated Gopalpur MLA and BJD deserter Pradeep Panigrahy for Berhampur Lok Sabha seat.
The BJD is yet to declare its Lok Sabha nominee for Berhampur seat. It is being speculated that BJP defector Baxipatra may jump into BJD fold to fight the LS polls from Berhampur parliamentary seat.