Odisha Assembly Dy Speaker Rajanikant Singh resigns

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Assembly Deputy Speaker Rajanikant Singh resigned from his post on Wednesday. Singh called on Speaker Pramila Mallik in her chamber in the Assembly and submitted his resignation letter.

“I had been contemplating stepping down from the apolitical post for a long time as it did not allow me to engage in party activities. It became imperative with elections round the corner. Now, I will be able to devote more time to the party and reach out to the people,” Singh said soon after his resignation.

The four-time BJD MLA from Angul was elected as the Deputy Speaker of Odisha Assembly in June 2019. He represented Angul Assembly constituency in 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019. Political observers said Singh might be given the responsibility of strengthening the party organisation in Angul.

Earlier, in May 2023, Speaker Bikram Keshari Arukha had resigned from his post and he was inducted into the Cabinet as Finance Minister.