Berhampur (Odisha), April 15 (PTI) Two former MLAs of Ganjam, the home district of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, on Monday resigned from the primary membership of the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) alleging that the party failed to address their concerns.

Siva Shankar Sahani, ex-MLA of Berhampur, and Harihar Sahu, former legislator of Hinjli constituency, along with J Shankar Narayana and his wife J Rajalaxmi, former vice-chairman and councilor of Berhampur municipality, announced their resignation from the party at a press conference here and sent their letters to party president Naveen Patnaik.

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"We, the former MLAs of the party in Ganjam district, have observed significant shortcomings in the party's functioning. In December last year, we wrote a letter to the Chief Minister expressing our concerns. Additionally, on February 28, we personally met senior BJD leaders V K Pandian and Pranab Prakash Dash, who assured us of rectifying these issues within the district. However, as our suggestions were not given due importance, we feel compelled to resign from the party", said Sahani and Sahu.

Sahani was elected as MLA from Berhampur seat in 1985 on a Congress ticket, while Sahu won the MLA seat from Hinjili in 1990 on a Janata Dal ticket. Both of them joined the BJD in 2014.

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Sahani also criticised the party for its selection of candidates for the assembly and Lok Sabha elections. "Brugu Baxipatra, who has no contribution in Ganjam district, was given a ticket to contest in the prestigious Berhampur Lok Sabha seat, a couple of hours after quitting the BJP and joining the BJD," they alleged.

"As our suggestions were not taken into consideration and not even in selection of the candidates, there is no need to remain in the party," Sahani said.

Sahu and Sahani are the second and third former MLAs in Ganjam district to resign from the BJD following the party's candidate selection. Previously, Rama Chandra Panda, former deputy speaker of the state assembly and former MLA of Chhatrapur, had also resigned from the BJD in protest against candidate selection. PTI COR BBM

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)