Odisha assembly dy speaker resigns, says he wants to prep for next year’s polls
Rajanikanth Singh said that he was unable to participate in BJD activities because he was holding a constitutional position
BHUBANESWAR: Odisha assembly deputy speaker Rajanikanth Singh on Wednesday stepped down from the post, saying he was unable to participate in party activities ahead of the general elections next year.
After submitting his resignation to speaker Pramila Mallick at the state assembly on Wednesday afternoon, Singh told reporters: “The deputy speaker’s post is a constitutional one, for which I was unable to participate in party activities. It was a pending decision. I tendered my resignation given the upcoming elections. It will facilitate me to strengthen the party organization and reach out to the people. Henceforth, I will work for the party and organisation. I want to strengthen the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in my region”.
There is buzz that Rajanikanth Singh may be the BJD’s Lok Sabha candidate from Dhenkanal in the 2024 elections.
Singh, who has been a member of the Odisha assembly since 2004, has been serving as deputy speaker since 2019. He represents the Angul assembly segment. Singh was also also the mines minister in Naveen Patnaik’s cabinet from 2012 to 2014.
Former assembly speaker Bikram Arukh resigned in May this year ahead of his induction into the council of ministers. Arukh has also been tasked to strengthen the BJD’s organisation in Ganjam, the home district of the chief minister where the party was facing some problems following the exit of former minister Pradip Panigrahy who was expelled from the party in connection with his arrest in a corruption case.
BJD leaders said Mahesh Sahoo, the party’s Lok Sabha MP from Dhenkanal, was unwilling to contest the 2024 elections and the party had been looking for a strong candidate as his replacement. BJD leaders said it was possible that union education and skill development minister Dharmendra Pradhan may be fielded from Dhenkanal in 2024. Rajanikanth Singh’s father AP Singh had been a forest and environment minister in cabinets led by Biju Patnaik as well as Naveen Patnaik.
