Former Bhadrak MP Manjulata Mandal and former Dhamnagar MLA Muktikanta Mandal have resigned from the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) along with more than 500 party leaders and workers.
The mass exit marks a major setback for the ruling party in Odisha.
The resignations follow the suspension of the Mandal couple from the party, triggering widespread discontent among grassroots workers across Bhadrak district. Leaders and workers from all seven Assembly segments under the Bhadrak Lok Sabha constituency joined the exodus. Prominent local figures such as Jagannath Swain, Shashikant Sahu, Subasini Sahu, Pranaya Das, Shyam Sundar Nayak, and Ashish Nayak also quit the party.
The decision came after a meeting coordinated by Pranaya Das, where hundreds of BJD workers from different blocks announced their departure. Manjulata Mandal accused certain leaders of weakening the party’s structure in Bhadrak, while Muktikanta Mandal alleged internal conspiracies led by Chandbali MLA Byomakesh Ray.
Both leaders and their supporters are expected to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on April 30. The move signals a shift in Bhadrak’s political landscape, once considered a BJD stronghold.
A year earlier, senior BJD leader Prafulla Samal’s son Lulu Samal had joined the BJP along with panchayat samiti chairpersons from four blocks. Political observers believe the latest exodus could further erode BJD’s organisational strength in the region ahead of the upcoming elections.
