Amar Satpathy dissociates himself from BJD

Bhubaneswar: Former Odisha minister Amar Prasad Satpathy, a six-time MLA, on Monday said he was no longer associated with the BJD as he did not renew his membership. Satpathy, who was unhappy after not getting nominated in this year’s Assembly polls, stated this in reply to criticism by BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty, who said it would be better if he left the party.

Satpathy drew the ire of the BJD after he said that former chief minister Naveen Patnaik should take responsibility for the party’s debacle in the Assembly polls, and that VK Pandian should not be blamed for it as he was not the leader of the party.

“I am no longer associated with the BJD. I have not renewed the membership of the party during the drive undertaken by it recently. I felt suffocated in the organisation because of the prevailing atmosphere,” he said.

Reiterating his earlier statement, Satpathy said, “We made Naveen Patnaik the leader. He had been credited for the victory of the party in the past and now, he should take responsibility for the defeat. He (Pandian) was not our leader though he came to the party through Patnaik. Why should we blame Pandian whom we had not made leader?”

Satpathy, a founding member of the party, was elected to the Assembly in 1990, 1995, 2000, 2009, 2014 and 2019. This time, he was replaced by Odia film star Varsha Priyadarshini, who lost to BJP’s Amar Kumar Naik.The BJD failed to open its account in the Lok Sabha elections and secured 51 seats in the 147-member Assembly, losing to the BJP.

Stating that he was independent of any political party for now, Satpathy said, “Though many parties, including the BJP, are in touch with me, I have not taken any decision.”

Meanwhile, Lenin Mohanty said the BJD will not be affected if Satpathy quits and joins another political outfit.After the party’s electoral loss, a number of leaders have come out in the open expressing their resentment.

Former MP Pradeep Majhi has been critical of the alliance talks ahead of the polls, while ex-minister Badri Narayan Patra claimed that the results would have been better if Patnaik toured the State. The BJD’s Dhenkanal Lok Sabha candidate, Abinash Samal, claimed the party lost the elections due to overconfidence and poor poll management.

Rajya Sabha members Mamata Mohanta and Sujeet Kumar quit the BJD and joined the BJP, expressing their unhappiness over how the party was managing

its affairs.