BHUBANESWAR: In a jolt to BJD, former minister and Simulia MLA Jyoti Prakash Panigrahi resigned from the primary membership of the party on Wednesday.
In a video message, the outgoing legislator said his late father Parshuram Panigrahi was associated with former chief minister Biju Patnaik, after whom the BJD has been named for over 40 years.
Jyoti said he also served the party for 10 years. “My family will continue to serve the people of Khaira and Simulia. I also hope for your cooperation,” he added.
Jyoti was aspiring for a ticket from Simulia Assembly seat. However, BJD nominated Subhasini Sahoo from the constituency this time.
Subhasini is the wife of Shashi Kumar Sahoo who unsuccessfully contested from the seat on a BJP ticket in 2014. A two-time MLA from Simulia, Jyoti was first elected in 2014 from the seat. He retained the seat in 2019 by defeating Padmalochan Panda of BJP.