Bhubaneswar: In a major political development, former Rajya Sabha MP and senior Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader N Bhaskar Rao today resigned from the party. Along with him, former minister Lal Bihari Himirika and several local leaders and workers of Rayagada district also quit the party’s primary membership.

Rao has announced the formation of a new outfit named 'Biju Swabhiman Mancha'.

According to reports, the decision came after a meeting of elected panchayat representatives, councillors, and senior leaders at Rao’s residence following the announcement of Jagannath Saraka as the new district president of BJD.

Speculation about Rao’s next move had been rife for the past few weeks. Tensions escalated further after the BJD office signboard in Rayagada was painted over in white. The office was originally inaugurated in 2024 when Rao was declared the district president during the election campaign.

For nearly a decade, the Rayagada BJD has been plagued by factional feuds between the groups led by Bhaskar Rao and Sudhir Das. Rao’s supporters alleged that the state leadership repeatedly sidelined them and took decisions against their interests, deepening divisions within the party.

This infighting cost the BJD dearly. In 2019, the party lost both the Rayagada Assembly and Koraput Lok Sabha seats. The setbacks worsened in the 2024 elections. Despite Rao’s position, the state leadership had distributed tickets for three Assembly seats without consulting him, leading to sharp internal disputes.

Several senior leaders from Rao’s camp had even resigned from their posts back then. With Saraka now appointed as district president, speculation grew stronger that Rao’s group would stage a collective exit, a prediction that has now come true with the launch of Biju Swabhiman Mancha.