BJD MP Debashish Samantaray takes indirect aim at party MP Sulata Deo alleging discipline breach

Tensions within the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) continue to surface as a cold war between party MPs Debashish Samantaray and Sulata Deo is getting increasingly visible. Without explicitly naming her, Samantaray has strongly hinted that Sulata is disrupting the party’s discipline and organisational harmony.

How Internal Discord Started?

The controversy traces back to the recent Waqf Bill voting, which triggered a series of public statements within the BJD leaders. It began with BJD Rajya Sabha MP Sasmit Patra’s social media post, which sparked reactions from within the party. 

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Samantaray indirectly accused VK Pandian, the then chief advisor to former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, of being the mastermind behind Sasmit’s post, saying “Sasmit is not the villain, it is the chief advisor who is behind this.”

This sparked a strong social media counter from Sulata Deo, who criticized Debashish's remarks and implied that such statements were inappropriate and harmful to party unity. 

In response, Debashish fired back again while refraining from naming Sulata directly but making his stance unmistakably clear. 

“It is not appropriate to compare her with senior leaders who are trying to maintain discipline. A junior member is breaking the chain of command,” he alleged.

Samantaray emphasized that senior members of the party are working hard to maintain organisational discipline and that such disruptions are damaging the party. 

“These developments have not escaped the notice of our party supremo Naveen Babu,” he added, suggesting that the party leadership is aware of the internal conflict and may intervene if necessary.

The public exchange between the two sitting MPs of the BJD indicates growing factionalism and discontent within the party, especially around issues of internal communication and the role of influential advisors. The silence of Sulata Deo and the latest comments of Debashish leave the matter open-ended and is likely to escalate further.