Biju Janata Dal MP Mamata Mohanta quits party, resigns from Rajya Sabha
With this, the Opposition party’s strength in the Upper House has come down to eight.
![Biju Janata Dal MP Mamata Mohanta quits party, resigns from Rajya Sabha](https://sc0.blr1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/article/202503-xjbdggqgbv-1722435569.jpeg)
Biju Janata Dal MP Mamata Mohanta on Wednesday resigned from the Rajya Sabha as well as from her party.
Mohanta, a prominent leader from the Kudumi community in Odisha, resigned as an MP two years before her tenure ended.
“I feel that there is no requirement of the services of myself as well as my community in the Biju Janata Dal,” she said in a letter to party chief Naveen Patnaik. “Therefore, I have taken this hard decision in public interest.”
With Mohanta’s resignation, the Opposition party’s strength in the Rajya Sabha has come down to eight.
The development comes over a month after the Biju Janata Dal was defeated by the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Odisha Assembly polls.
The BJP won 78 out of Odisha’s 147 Assembly seats. The Biju Janata Dal, which was in power in the state since March 2000, got 51 seats. The Congress won 14 seats.
On June 24, Patnaik had said that it would no longer give issue-based support to the BJP and would instead act as a “vibrant and strong” opposition in the Rajya Sabha. The Biju Janata Dal did not win any seat in this year’s Lok Sabha election.
ମୁଁ ଆଜି ରାଜ୍ୟସଭା ସଦସ୍ୟ ପଦରୁ ଇସ୍ତଫା ଦେଇଛି । ବିଜୁ ଜନତା ଦଳର ସଭାପତି ଶ୍ରୀ ନବୀନ ପଟ୍ଟନାୟକଙ୍କ ପାଖକୁ ମଧ୍ୟ ଇସ୍ତଫା ପତ୍ର ପଠାଇ ଦେଇଛି । ମୋତେ ଜିଲ୍ଲା ପରିଷଦର ସଦସ୍ୟ ଓ ରାଜ୍ୟସଭାର ସଦସ୍ୟ ଭାବେ ସେ ମନୋନୀତ କରି ମୋର ଜିଲ୍ଲା ମୟୂରଭଞ୍ଜ ଓ ରାଜ୍ୟର ସେବା କରିବା ପାଇଁ ସୁଯୋଗ ଦେଇଥିଲେ । pic.twitter.com/7Y6KLiuel9
— MP Mamata Mohanta (@MamataMohanta5) July 31, 2024