Biju Janata Dal MLA Jyotiprakash Panigrahi on Wednesday resigned from the regional outfit.

Panigrahi submitted his resignation letter to BJD president and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

"I do hereby tender my resignation from the primary membership of Biju Janata Dal with immediate effect," he said in the letter.

Panigrahi who was elected as MLA on BJD ticket from Simulia constituency in Balasore district in 2014 and 2019 and became minister of state for tourism in the Naveen Pattanaik ministry, was later dropped from the ministry. He was denied a BJD ticket for the 2024 Assembly elections.

Panigrahi is the second BJD MLA in Balasore district after Soro MLA Parsuram Dhada to resign from the party after being denied a party ticket in the Assembly election.

Lok Sabha and Assembly elections are being held simultaneously in Odisha.

Earlier, sitting MLAs like Arabinda Dhali, Ramesh Chandra Sai, Parsuram Dhada, Premananda Nayak and Simarani Nayak resigned from the BJD over denial of party tickets.

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