BJD MP Debashish Samantaray Resigns As Senior Citizen Cell Vice President, Says Post ‘Demeaning’ | Politics News

The MP alleged that there appeared to be “a design” to weaken the party internally

Rajya Sabha MP Debashish Samantaray has resigned from the post of Vice President of the Biju Janata Dal’s (BJD) Senior Citizen Cell, criticising the party’s recent organisational changes and saying the designation was “demeaning and humiliating.” Samantaray announced his decision in a strongly worded letter to Opposition Leader and BJD president Naveen Patnaik, dated November 24.

In the letter, Samantaray said he failed to understand the purpose of the appointment, adding that it sounded “bureaucratic” and did not reflect the role of long-time loyalists of the party. “I doubt that there is any place for loyalists of legendary Biju Babu or your loyalists who have stood like rock behind your long and illustrious political career,” he wrote.

Samantaray said the BJD had deviated from the “line of thought, ideology and action” that defined Biju Patnaik’s legacy, and expressed disappointment that despite his “unflinching loyalty,” he had been given a role that undermined workers who stood by the party through electoral highs and lows. He also pointed to the party’s 2024 poll defeat, saying the BJD failed to accept the reasons behind the loss and take corrective action.

The MP alleged that there appeared to be “a design” to weaken the party internally, and urged Naveen Patnaik to intervene personally to address the crisis. He said thousands of BJD workers continued to see Patnaik as their “only hope in future,” and that the party must act to regain public confidence.

Stating that he was “unable to accept” the post, Samantaray reaffirmed that he would remain a worker of the BJD and continue to uphold the Biju–Naveen line of thought. “I will always remain merely a worker of BJD,” he wrote, signing off with “Jay Jagannath.”