Bhubaneswar: Former Odisha MLA Amar Prasad Satpathy Monday said that he is no longer associated with the Biju Janata Dal (BJD).
Satpathy Monday clarified that he is not in BJD anymore and he has not renewed his membership during the party’s recent membership drive.
Satpathy revealed that since being denied a party ticket and sidelined in the party’s organisational affairs, he had felt “suffocated” within the BJD. While he is not currently involved in any political activities, he did not rule out the possibility of joining another political party in the future.
In response, BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty stated that if Satpathy no longer wanted to be associated with the BJD, he should leave the party and sever all ties with it. Mohanty further commented that Satpathy’s departure would not affect the BJD in any way.
Recently, Satpathy remarked that if Naveen Patnaik could take credit for the party’s victories over the past 24 years, he should also take responsibility for the BJD’s poor performance in the 2024 Assembly elections.
It can be mentioned here that Satpathy won the Barchana Assembly seat twice as a Janata Dal candidate in the 1990 and 1995 elections, and thrice as a BJD candidate in the 2004, 2009, and 2014 Assembly elections. He was also elected to the Odisha Assembly in 2009 as an NCP candidate.
However, the BJD denied him a party ticket for the 2024 elections and instead fielded Odia movie actress Varsha Priyadarshini who was defeated by the BJP candidate.
PNN & Agencies