Bhubaneswar, April 13 (IANS) Naveen Patnaik, President of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), on Monday appointed senior party MP Manas Ranjan Mangaraj as the Leader of the BJD in the Rajya Sabha.

According to an official communication issued on Monday, the BJD supremo also appointed senior party leader and MP Sulata Deo as the Deputy Leader & Chief Whip of the BJD Parliamentary Party in the Upper House of the Parliament.

The party stated that the reshuffle in its parliamentary leadership in the Rajya Sabha was carried out following the recent biennial elections and the retirement of several senior Members of Parliament. The party has six members in the Upper House. The communication, addressed to the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, sought formal recognition of the newly appointed leaders.

“It is requested that due official recognition may kindly be given to the aforesaid newly appointed leaders of Biju Janata Dal in Rajya Sabha,” the party urged the Rajya Sabha Chairman.

Notably, Senior BJD leader Mangaraj was elected to the upper house of parliament in July 2022. Earlier, he also worked as Media and Public Relations Advisor to the Government of Odisha with the status of Minister of State during the BJD’s rule between 2019 and 2024.

He also served as the General Secretary, Media Affairs of the regional party.

Senior BJD leader Dr Sasmit Patra had earlier tendered his resignation from the post of Parliamentary Party leader of the BJD in the Rajya Sabha. On April 9, the party supremo and former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik accepted Patra’s resignation. Sources also claimed that some party MPs had also demanded Patra’s removal from the post in a letter to the party president.

Internal rift in the party has reportedly forced Patra to step down as BJD’s Rajya Sabha leader. Patra, who is serving his second term in the Rajya Sabha, has been the BJD’s parliamentary party leader since 2022.

A section of the regional party turned against Patra following the party’s change of stance during the voting on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill at the last moment in April 2025. They had also demanded stringent action against Patra, holding him responsible for the flip-flop that left the party embarrassed.

–IANS

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