Bhubaneswar: Former BJD MP Manjulata Mandal and her husband, former BJD MLA Muktikant Mandal, have resigned from the party. The couple was suspended in March for alleged anti-party activities.
Along with them, more than 500 BJD leaders and workers from seven assembly segments under the Bhadrak Lok Sabha constituency quit the party on Wednesday in protest against the suspension.
Those who resigned include former Bhadrak district BJD president Jagannath Swain, senior BJD leader from Simulia Shashikant Sahu, BJD leader Subashini Sahu, and party leaders Pranay Das, Shyamsundar Nayak, and Ashish Nayak. Several grassroots-level workers from various blocks also left the party.
The resignations were announced at a meeting coordinated by Pranay Das. Muktikant Mandal had earlier served as Dhamnagar MLA and BJD district vice-president. The mass exit is seen as a setback for the BJD in Bhadrak ahead of upcoming political developments.
