Senior Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Debasish Samantray on Monday resigned from the primary membership of the party. He was considered as a close aide of Naveen Patnaik. The BJD has 6 Rajya Sabha members including Samantaray. He sent his resignation letter to BJD president Naveen Patnaik and said in the letter that he felt systematically belittled and that the party no longer required his services.
However, he expressed gratitude to Naveen Patnaik for nominating him to the Rajya Sabha and allowing him to serve the people of the undivided Cuttack district and Odisha at the national level.
After Debashish Samantaray’s exits the BJD, the party’s strength in the Rajya Sabha will further decline to five members. There is also speculation that, after joining the BJP, Samantaray could be re-elected to Parliament with the party’s support.
In the letter dated May 25, 2026, Samantaray stated that he had always worked for the party with conviction and commitment but decided to step down in the public interest. He described the decision as difficult but necessary.