Former Deputy Assembly Speaker Ram Chandra Panda Quits BJD

Bhubaneswar: Biju Janata Dal leader and former Deputy Assembly Speaker Ram Chandra Panda on Thursday resigned from the prime membership of the party.
The senior BJD leader tendered his resignation letter to the party chief and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
According to sources, ticket denial for two consecutive times by the ruling BJD party forced Ram Chandra to take this decision.
Earlier, he had resigned from the post of advisor to the Agriculture and Farmers Empowerment Department on ethical grounds after the model code of conduct came into force for the impending general elections in 2024.
Ram Chandra joined the BJD in 2017 ahead of the panchayat elections after leaving the saffron party. Before being part of BJD, Panda was elected to the Odisha Legislative Assembly in 2000 on a BJP ticket from Chhatrapur in Ganjam district.
He was the Deputy Speaker from 2000 to 2004 during the BJD-BJP alliance. In the 2014 elections, he contested on a BJP ticket from Berhampur as the MP candidate but secured the third position.