If reports are to be believed, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader and Deputy Speaker of the Odisha Legislative Assembly Rajanikant Singh may resign from his position on Wednesday.
The four-time MLA from Angul is likely to meet Speaker Pramila Mallik and submit his resignation papers today.
Sources said BJD’s hold in Angul and Pallahara Assembly Constituencies is getting weaker. So, just like former Speaker Bikram Keshari Arukha, Singh has also been asked by the party to leave the Deputy Speaker’s chair and work in his Constituency to strengthen the party’s position.
Asked about Singh, BJD MLA, Sashibhusan Behera said, “BJD high command has successfully strengthened the hold of the party at the grassroots level. That is why the BJD has been in power for the last 24 years. So whatever decision he will take, it will surely be for the betterment of the party.”
However, no official statement in this connection has been released by the BJD yet.
Singh was elected unopposed as the Deputy Speaker of the 16th Odisha Assembly in April 2021. As there was no other candidate for the position, the then Odisha Assembly Speaker late Surjya Narayan Patro announced the name of Singh as Deputy Speaker of the House.
Son of former MLA late Adwaita Prasad Singh, Rajanikant is a four-time MLA from Angul since 2004. He was also a minister during the fourth term of the BJD government from 2014 to 2019.