Bhubaneswar, April 13 -- Less than a week after senior MP Sasmit Patra resigned as chairman of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) parliamentary party in the Rajya Sabha, party president Naveen Patnaik on Monday appointed Manas Mangaraj as the new leader in the Upper House.

Patnaik also named Sulata Deo as the deputy leader and chief whip of the BJD parliamentary party in the Rajya Sabha.

Mangaraj, 55, a former journalist and media adviser to the Odisha government, joined the BJD in 2018 and started his Rajya Sabha term in July 2022. Considered close to former bureaucrat VK Pandian, his elevation is seen by party leaders as an effort to stabilise the party's functioning in Parliament at a time of internal strain.

Sasmit Patra resigned last week ...