Bhubaneswar: BJD president Naveen Patnaik Thursday accepted the resignation of Sasmit Patra as the leader of the regional outfit’s parliamentary party.
Patra, a two-time Rajya Sabha MP, had submitted his resignation Wednesday, citing reasons that remain undisclosed.
The office of the Leader of Opposition in the Odisha Assembly said in a statement, President Biju Janata Dal Sri Naveen Patnaik has accepted the resignation of Dr Sasmit Patra, MP, as leader of the BJD parliamentary party, Rajya Sabha, today.
Party sources indicated that some BJD MPs had sought a change in the leadership in the House.
The resignation comes two days after the oath-taking of new BJD Rajya Sabha member Santrupt Misra.
Earlier this month, Patra had also resigned from the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and IT, protesting remarks made by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey about the legendary Biju Patnaik. Dubey was the head of the committee.
Patra had been the BJD’s leader in the Rajya Sabha since 2022. Currently, the party has six members in the Upper House and none in the Lok Sabha.