Bhubaneswar, March 21: Six Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) from the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) have been suspended from the party for voting in favor of BJP-backed Independent candidate Dilip Ray in the recently concluded Rajya Sabha election.
The suspended MLAs are Chakramani Kanhar (Baliguda), Naba Kishor Mallick (Jayadev), Souvic Biswal (Choudwar-Cuttack), Subasini Jena (Basta), Ramakanta Bhoi (Tirtol), and Devi Ranjan Tripathy (Banki).
The decision to suspend the MLAs was made after a thorough review by the BJD Political Affairs Committee (PAC), which is led by the party's president, Naveen Patnaik. The PAC convened at Naveen Niwas this evening to discuss the matter and finalize the course of action.
Earlier, the six MLAs had been issued show-cause notices for their actions during the March 16 Rajya Sabha elections. In a response to the notices, the MLAs—Chakramani Kanhar (Baliguda), Naba Kishor Mallick (Jayadev), Souvic Biswal (Choudwar-Cuttack), Subasini Jena (Basta), Ramakanta Bhoi (Tirtol), and Devi Ranjan Tripathy (Banki)—had called for the withdrawal of the notices by Party Chief Whip Pramila Mallik, warning of legal action if the matter was not resolved.
On March 17, the six MLAs were formally served with show-cause notices by Pramila Mallik, seeking an explanation for their decision to vote against the official party line during the Rajya Sabha elections.
