Bhubaneswar: Former Deputy Speaker of Odisha Assembly, Rama Chandra Panda, today resigned from the Biju Janata Dal (BJD).
The senior BJD leader tendered his resignation letter to party chief Naveen Patnaik citing ‘ticket denial’ as the reason behind his move.
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 2024.
Rama Chandra Panda joined the BJD in 2017 ahead of the panchayat elections after deserting the BJP.
Panda had started his political career with erstwhile Janata Dal. He was elected to 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.
