Bhubaneswar, April 9 -- Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president Naveen Patnaik on Thursday accepted the resignation of MP Sasmit Patra as leader of the BJD parliamentary party in Rajya Sabha.

Sasmit Patra's resignation comes after Dutteshwar Hota, who has the support of BJD, Congress and CPI(M), was defeated in the Rajya Sabha elections amid cross-voting.

The party had suspended its six MLAs for "anti-party activities, including cross-voting" in the Rajya Sabha elections.

A BJD release said that the party's Disciplinary Committee examined the replies of the MLA to the showcause notice issued to them. It said the six MLAs had violated "the core principle" of the BJD Constitution.

The suspended MLAs included Chakramani Kanhar of Baliguda, Naba ...