BHUBANESWAR: BJD president Naveen Patnaik on Thursday accepted the resignation of senior leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sasmit Patra as the party’s parliamentary party leader. Patra, a two-time Rajya Sabha MP, resigned from the post on Wednesday.
Though reasons behind the resignation of Patra has not been officially revealed either by him or the party, sources said his colleagues in the Upper House wanted a change in leadership and had submitted a letter to the party president on April 2 in this regard. Patra was the BJD’s parliamentary party leader since 2022.
Patra’s resignation came two days after Santrupt Misra, political secretary to the party chief, took oath as a member of the Rajya Sabha.
Sources said that Misra is the frontrunner while Manas Mangaraj is also in reckoning for the parliamentary party leader.
Patra had also resigned from the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and IT last month to protest the remarks made by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey about former chief minister Biju Patnaik. Dubey is the chairman of the standing committee.