BHUBANESWAR: Former minister and senior BJD leader Prafulla Mallik was suspended from the party on Friday for allegedly engaging in anti-party activities, a move that further exposes growing discontent within the ruling outfit.
Mallik, a former MLA from Kamakhyanagar in Dhenkanal district, had on Thursday threatened to quit the BJD, expressing dissatisfaction over the functioning of the party.
The former minister, who had been keeping himself within the party fold despite his defeat in the 2024 Assembly elections, is the latest to fall out with the leadership.
His suspension comes just days after two senior leaders, N Bhaskar Rao and former minister Lal Bihari Himirika, resigned from the BJD, protesting against the manner in which the party is being run.
Dissent within the party has been growing in recent weeks, with several senior leaders, including former ministers, openly raising questions about the way the organisation is functioning.