Balasore (Odisha), March 10 Ahead of the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections, senior BJD leader and former MP Rabindra Kumar Jena resigned from the primary membership of the regional outfit on Tuesday.
Sources close to Jena said that he may join the saffron party in a day or two ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections scheduled on March 16.
Jena, who was elected to the Lok Sabha from Balasore in 2014, in a letter to BJD president Naveen Patnaik, said: "I have taken a firm decision to separate from the party due to some personal reasons and the prevailing situation. My resignation may be accepted immediately."
An effective organizer, Jena had also worked as the president of the BJD in the Balasore district. He was defeated by BJP candidate Pratap Sarangi in the 2019 general elections in the Balasore Lok Sabha seat and was denied a party ticket in 2024.
The party fielded his wife, Subasini Jena, as the BJD candidate from the Basta assembly constituency in Balasore district in 2024, and she won the election.
Rabindra's resignation at this juncture is politically significant, as his wife, Subasini, is a voter as a BJD MLA in the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections.
Subasini had on Monday given an unclear statement regarding her decision on the Rajya Sabha polls.
"I have not yet decided whom to vote for in the Rajya Sabha elections," she had said, keeping everyone guessing on whether she would vote for the Independent candidate, Dilip Ray, who is backed by the BJP.
BJD president Naveen Patnaik has fielded Datteswar Hota as a common candidate in the Rajya Sabha elections and has appealed to all parties to support the eminent urologist.