Six-time Odisha MP Bhartruhari Mahtab resigns from BJD

Cuttack: Lok Sabha member and senior Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Bhartruhari Mahtab resigned from the party today.

The Cuttack MP announced it in a press conference here today.

“I tendered my resignation to BJD Supremo Naveen Patnaik at 4 pm,” Mahatab told reporters.

Mahtab is the second BJD leader to desert the conch party in less than a week.

Addressing the presser, the six-time MP said, “As the announcement was made for 18th Lok Sabha, I decided to resign from the BJD.”

“The tenure of 17th Lok Sabha has ended. As a Lok Sabha member of the BJD, I have discharged my duties and responsibilities appropriately. In the past few months, I was not active in the party. There is a limit of patience. When it broke, I quit the party,” Mahatab told mediapersons.

Citing the reason for resignation, he said, “The BJD was formed to fight corruption and self-aggrandizement in Odisha. The people of Odisha voted the party to power for this. However, the way the party was managed, I had suggested many a time for rectification and changes, but nothing happened. I can carry out the fight after being staying away from the party.”