Former MLA Purna Chandra Sethy quits BJD

Bhubaneswar: Former MLA Purna Chandra Sethy on Monday quit the ruling Biju Janata Dal ahead of the assembly and Lok Sabha polls.

The Dalit leader was elected twice from the Khallikote assembly seat in Ganjam district from 2009 to 2019.

He sent his resignation letter to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

The former legislator resigned from the primary membership as well as the party's state council.

Sethy alleged he was being neglected within the party.

He said though he was denied a party ticket in 2019, he had campaigned for party candidate Suryamani Vaidya, who had won the seat.

Sethy's resignation came days after BJD's six-time MP Bhartruhari Mahtab quit the party, alleging he was being "sidelined and ignored".

Also, BJD's two sitting MLAs, Arabinda Dhali from Jaydev assembly seat and Premananda Nai from Telkoi constituency, also resigned from the party and joined the BJP.

Earlier last month, prominent tribal leader Balabhadra Maji, who was a minister, resigned from the BJD and joined the BJP.

Four sitting MLAs -- Pradeep Panigrahy, Prasant Jagdev, Soumya Ranjan Patnaik and Sudhansu Sekhar Parida – were expelled from the BJD on charges of "anti-party activities". Of them, Panigrahy and Jagdev have already joined the BJP.