Senior Biju Janata Dal leader and Rajya Sabha MP Debashish Samantaray resigned from the primary membership of the party on Monday, delivering a blow to the Odisha opposition party and citing a pattern of deliberate marginalisation within its ranks.
After Mamata Mahanta and Sujeet Kumar, Samantaray is the third Rajya Sabha member who left BJD recently. Both, Mahanta and Kumar had switched to BJP. He is also likely to join BJP, The Indian Express reported.
In a resignation letter addressed to BJD president Naveen Patnaik, Samantaray said he had been "systematically belittled" and that the party no longer required his services.
"I have always dedicated myself to the interest of the party and have, over the years, worked for the party with utmost conviction and commitment. However, I feel that, of late, I have been systematically belittled in the party and that the party does not require my services. Therefore, I have taken this hard decision in public interest," he wrote, according to the resignation letter, published by IANS.
Bhubaneswar, Odisha: BJD leader and Rajya Sabha MP Debashish Samantaray resigned from the primary membership of the party pic.twitter.com/TeUBB2I2hk
— IANS (@ians_india) May 25, 2026
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Who Is Debashish Samantaray?
Born on February 11, 1960, in Cuttack, Odisha, Samantaray is a veteran politician who has represented Odisha in the Rajya Sabha since April 4, 2024.
He previously served as a member of the Odisha Legislative Assembly from the Barabati-Cuttack constituency from 2009 to 2019, and earlier from the Tirtol constituency between 2000 and 2004. He is the son of the late Nityananda Samantaray, a Congress politician who served in the Odisha Legislative Assembly.
Elected to the Rajya Sabha in February 2024, Samantaray had warmly thanked Naveen Patnaik at the time, saying he was grateful to his leader and committed to raising Odisha's issues — including the demand for special category status — at the national level.
His resignation now marks a sharp reversal of that relationship and is likely to further complicate the BJD's standing as it seeks to rebuild after losing power in Odisha in the 2024 state elections.
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