Odisha: BJD Suspends Shreemayee Mishra over Anti-Party Activities

 Bhubaneswar: As anticipated, Odisha’s main opposition party, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), on Tuesday suspended one of its leading women leaders, Shreemayee Mishra, citing anti-party activities.

Mishra’s name appeared alongside two others in the suspension letter issued by the party’s vice president, Pratap Jena. The other two suspended leaders—Prabir Chandra Sai and Subash Chandra Sai—also hail from Mayurbhanj district.

The controversy around Mishra began with a cryptic social media post in which she referred to the presence of “Bhanda Sanyasi” (fake monks) within the party—a remark widely interpreted as a veiled attack on V Karthikeyan Pandian, a powerful former bureaucrat and close aide of ex-Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Earlier, she had indirectly likened Patnaik to “Dhritarashtra” of the epic Mahabharata, further fueling political debates.

In a surprising development last week, BJD Rajya Sabha MP Debashish Samantaray publicly defended Mishra. He stated that her comments reflected the “harsh realities” within the party.

“Shreemayee has spoken the truth. She was mistreated and ignored despite repeated appeals for a ticket to contest elections. Her grievances mirror the growing dissatisfaction many leaders are experiencing within the party,” Samantaray said on September 19.

He went further, pointing to an undemocratic culture allegedly festering within the BJD.

“Although several MLAs were informed that she would contest, she was sidelined at the last moment. Taking punitive action against her without addressing genuine concerns shows the party’s failure to function democratically. Even senior leaders like Prafulla Mallik have raised valid grievances, which should not be brushed aside,” he asserted.