Odisha: BJD block panchayat samiti president resigns ahead of no-confidence motion

Jajpur, Aug 20 (PT) BJD leader Pravat Kumar Balabantaray has resigned from the post of chairperson of Dharmasala block panchayat samiti in Odisha's Jajpur district on Wednesday, an official said.

The resignation of Balabantaray, a two-time block panchayat samiti chairperson, comes just two days before the scheduled voting on a no-confidence motion against him.

Citing personal reasons, Balabantaray on Wednesday tendered his resignation and sent it to the Block Development Officer (BDO) of Dharmasala to accept it at the earliest.

He resigned ahead of a motion of no confidence, which is scheduled to be held on August 22.

The political tussle in Dharmasala block had intensified after 38 of its members (20 sarpanches and 18 Samiti members) of various panchayats of the panchayat samiti submitted the no-confidence motion against the block chairperson to Jajpur sub-collector Tapas Ranjan Dehury on August 11.

The sub collector had fixed the date of voting for August 22 after verifying their signatures.

With Pravat Balabantaray being the brother of former Dharmasala MLA and senior BJD leader Pranab Kumar Balabantaray alias Jitu, the move was widely seen as a power struggle between Dharmasala MLA Himanshu Sekhar Sahu and former legislator Jitu.

Balabantaray said he took the decision to resign in the interest of the safety and security of panchayat representatives. He also expressed gratitude to the residents of the block for their support and affection.

The Dharmasala block has 45 panchayats and 90 body members, including Sarpanches and Samiti members. Balabantaray had been elected Dharmasala block panchayat samiti chairperson twice in 2017 and 2022.

When contacted, Dharmasala BDO Jyotirmaya Kar admitted to have received the resignation letter of the block panchayat samiti chairperson and has sent it to the district collector for further necessary action. PTI COR BBM BBM RG