 Rajya Sabha MP Debashish Samantaray joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday, just a day after){kind=link}
Former Biju Janata Dal Rajya Sabha MP Debashish Samantaray joined the BJP a day after resigning from Parliament
May 26, 2026: Former Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Rajya Sabha MP Debashish Samantaray joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday, just a day after resigning from both the Upper House of Parliament and the regional party led by Naveen Patnaik. Rajya Sabha Chairman C. P. Radhakrishnan accepted his resignation on Monday, officially vacating the Odisha seat.
Samantaray, considered a long-time associate of Naveen Patnaik, said he decided to leave the BJD after feeling “systematically belittled” within the organisation. In his resignation letter, he expressed dissatisfaction over his treatment in the party and claimed that his services were no longer valued. Soon after resigning, he formally joined the BJP in a politically significant move for Odisha politics.
Sources said Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and state BJP president Manmohan Samal were present in New Delhi during the developments surrounding his induction into the saffron party. Samantaray’s exit further weakens the BJD’s Rajya Sabha strength and comes amid the BJP’s growing political expansion in Odisha following its recent electoral gains.