BHUBANESWAR: A day after resigning as Chairman of Odisha Lift Irrigation Corporation (OLIC), senior BJD leader and former minister Raghunath Mohanty on Sunday quit from the primary membership of the regional outfit of which he was a vice-president. He is likely to join BJP.
In a letter to Chief Minister and party supremo Naveen Patnaik, Mohanty attributed his resignation to personal problems though he was an aspirant for Basta Assembly seat in Balasore district.
Sources said Mohanty decided to resign from the BJD as the party is contemplating to field wife of sitting Balasore MP Rabindra Jena from the seat.
Criticising the BJD for diverting from the ideals of Biju Patnaik, Mohanty told mediapersons that the party is being now run by a group having vested interest. Stating that he was one of the founding members of the BJD and a dedicated worker, Mohanty said the party cold-shouldered several founding members, including him. “I felt that the party does not need my services anymore and therefore, I resigned to safeguard the pride of the people of Balasore district,” he said.
The former minister said he is yet to make up his mind whether to contest elections from Basta Assembly seat. “I will take a decision in this regard soon as election in Basta is scheduled in the last phase,” he said and added that no member from his family will contest polls.
He had resigned as Chairperson of OLIC on Saturday. Mohanty, a five-time MLA from Basta since 1990, was denied ticket by the BJD after he was arrested in a dowry torture case filed by his daughter-in-law Barsa Swony Choudhury.
However, he was reinstated in the party as vice-president on March 16, 2018. The senior leader had served in Naveen Patnaik Government in various capacities as minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Panchayati Raj, Steel and Mines, Industries and Law till he was removed on March 15, 2013.