New Delhi, May 26: A day after resigning from the Biju Janata Dal and stepping down from the Rajya Sabha, senior politician Debashish Samantaray joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Samantaray was inducted into the BJP in the presence of Odisha BJP president Manmohan Samal.

Senior BJP leader Arun Singh and Odisha BJP in-charge Vijay Pal Singh Tomar were also present during the induction programme.

Resigned From BJD, Rajya Sabha A Day Earlier
In his resignation letter addressed to Naveen Patnaik, Samantaray had thanked the party leadership for nominating him to the Rajya Sabha and for giving him an opportunity to serve the people of the undivided Cuttack district.

“I shall always be indebted to you for nominating me to Rajya Sabha. I take this opportunity to express my sincere and deepest gratitude to you for giving me an opportunity to serve the people of the undivided Cuttack district and to raise issues of Odisha at large at the national level,” he wrote.

‘Party Does Not Require My Services’
Samantaray stated that despite working for the BJD with “utmost conviction and commitment,” he felt sidelined within the organisation in recent times.

“However, I feel that, of late, I have been systematically belittled in the party and that the party does not require my services. Therefore, I have taken this hard decision in the public interest and request you to accept my resignation,” he said in the letter.

Also Read: The Defensive Batter Bows Out: Why Debashish Samantaray Had to Call It Quits from the BJD| Analysis

Third BJD Rajya Sabha MP To Quit After 2024 Poll Setback
Samantaray, whose Rajya Sabha tenure was scheduled to continue till April 2030, became the third BJD Rajya Sabha MP to quit the party following the BJD’s defeat in both the 2024 Odisha Assembly elections and Lok Sabha polls.

Earlier, Mamata Mohanta and Sujit Kumar had also resigned from the Rajya Sabha and exited the party.

His switch to the BJP is being viewed as another significant political setback for the BJD amid continuing churn within the regional party after its electoral defeat in Odisha.