Odisha: Naveen Patnaik Faces Heat As Bjd Veteran Seeks Clarity on Party Crisis

Bhubaneswar: Naveen Patnaik, former chief minister of Odisha and president of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), is facing increasing pressure from within his own party, as senior leader and founding member Amar Prasad Satpathy demands answers about the role of Patnaik’s close aide, V Karthikeyan Pandian, in the current state of party affairs.

Satpathy, who has been a vocal critic since the BJD lost power in the state after 24 years of rule, said many party leaders hold Pandian responsible for the party's recent electoral losses.

“When the BJD was founded in 1997, we unanimously chose Naveen Patnaik as our leader. Today, several leaders believe V Karthikeyan Pandian is behind the party's downfall. It is high time for the president to clear the air and address the concerns raised by party members," Satpathy said on Thursday.

Satpathy, who represented Barchana in Odisha Legislative Assembly for six terms, has distanced himself from BJD activities since the party denied him a ticket for the assembly elections held earlier this year. He revealed that his frustration with the party's internal functioning led him to refrain from renewing his membership this year.

“We want transparency from the party president. It’s unfortunate that some people, who were nowhere around when the BJD was formed, are now questioning our commitment and integrity. Their ignorance is both shocking and amusing,” Satpathy added.

BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty recently labeled Satpathy’s criticism as "anti-party activities" and suggested that the senior leader should step down if he no longer felt comfortable within the party.

“If Amar Satpathy feels suffocated in the BJD, he should leave, rather than making accusations in the media,” Mohanty said.

Satpathy swiftly responded to Mohanty’s remarks, dismissing them as the words of someone “immature in politics,” and stating that such comments held no value to him.

Since the BJD’s loss to the BJP in the recent state elections, several key leaders, including two Rajya Sabha members, have resigned from the party. Many of them have raised concerns over the party’s “undemocratic” functioning and failure to live up to its promises of corruption-free governance.

Satpathy predicted that two more Rajya Sabha members are on the verge of leaving the BJD.

Earlier, Rajya Sabha members Mamata Mohanta and Sujit Kumar had resigned from the BJD and joined the BJP, signaling further cracks within the party’s structure.