According to sources, Sai sent his resignation letter to BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
In his resignation letter, Sai mentioned that he had won from the Athamallik constituency as a BJD candidate by a record margin of more than 47,000 votes in 2019 elections.
The MLA said he was resigning from the party on personal grounds.
However, sources claimed that Sai was unhappy with the BJD for denying him a ticket from Athmallik constituency.
Yesterday, the BJD announced its second list of 27 candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections, in which the party has dropped Sai and nominated Nalinikant Pradhan as its candidate for Athmallik constituency in Angul district.
Recently, several BJD leaders including sitting MPs and MLAs quit the BJD and joined the saffron party.
Odisha will vote in the Lok Sabha elections and Assembly polls, which are being held simultaneously, in four phases. The polling will be held on May 13, 20, 25 and June 1.
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