Bhubaneswar, Feb 9 (IANS): In a jolt to the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD), former minister and sitting MLA from Telkoi, Premananda Nayak has resigned from the primary membership of the party.

“I am resigning from the primary membership of ‘BIJU JANATA DAL.’ A valuable time, that I spent with you will inspire me to serve my constituency better,” Nayak wrote in a letter addressed to BJD President and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik here.

Speaking to the media, Nayak on Friday said that he was being sidelined in the party for the last few years. Though he had sent his resignation letter to the BJD President via email in October last year, none from the party reached out to him to discuss his grievances.

Nayak said that earlier he could meet the party President to discuss his issues as well as various concerns related to his constituency, however, Patnaik became inaccessible to party MLAs after 2019.

This apart, Nayak expressed his displeasure over the party's decision to allow one of his main opponents to join the BJD before the Panchayat elections.

This also created bad blood within the party organisation, he said.

Nayak won from the Telkoi constituency twice in 2009 and 2019 and was also the Minister of State (Ind), Skill Development & Technical Education between 2019 and 2022.