Sundargarh: Senior BJD leader Santosh Kumar Amat quit the party after allegedly being denied tickets for the upcoming General Elections to Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies in Odisha.

He resigned from the primary membership of the BJD. Although, he did not mention the reason behind his move, 'continuous negligence' in the party and 'denial of tickets' ahead of the polls are assumed to be the prime reason that he ended his association with the regional party.

Amat reportedly was disappointed after the BJD announced former MLA Jogesh Singh and Padma Shri Dilip Tirkey as the candidates for Sundargarh Assembly and Lok Sabha seats respectively, sidelining him in the party.

The senior BJD leader, who was one of the aspirants for tickets either for Sundargarh Lok Sabha or Assembly segment, decided to desert the conch party expressing displeasure over the BJD supremo's decision.

Amat had stepped into politics after quitting Indian Revenue Service. He was defeated by Congress' Prafulla Majhi after fighting from Talsara Assembly seat on a BJP ticket in 2014 polls. Later, he resigned from the BJP and joined the BJD in March 2017. The party made him a panelist in order to counter the then BJP MP Jual Oram in Sundargarh. In the same year, he was appointed as the first Chairman of newly constituted Special Development Council. In 2018, the party asked him to resign from the position.

He aspired to contest the Lok Sabha elections in 2019 for which he had started campaign. However, the party disappointed him and chose former Chief Minister Hemananda Biswal's daughter Sunita Biswal as its candidate for the Lok Sabha polls from Sundargarh. The party faced defeat by 2.5 lakh votes. Despite repeated ignorance in the party, Amat, however, was active in the BJD with a hope to get a ticket either for Lok Sabha or Assembly from Sundargarh in 2024 elections.

Reports said the BJD selected Dilip Tirkey and Jogesh Singh as its candidates for 2024 elections without considering Amat's contribution to the party.