India, May 25 -- Debashish Samantaray on Monday resigned as a Rajya Sabha member and from the Biju Janata Dal (BJD)'s primary membership, alleging systematic belittling within the organisation, ahead of his expected induction into the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Samantaray's resignation came after Rajya Sabha members Mamata Mohanta and Sujeet Kumar quit the BJD and joined the BJP in 2024. The BJD lost power in Odisha in June 2024 after a 24-year rule. With Samantray's exit, the BJD now has fuve lawmakers in the Rajya Sabha. Samantaray submitted his resignation as a Rajya Sabha member to vice-president C P Radhakrishnan.

In his resignation letter to BJD chief Naveen Patnaik, Samantaray said he increasingly felt ignored and under...