Tathagata Satpathy, a Member of Parliament (MP) of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD,) on the 5th of March, announced his retirement from politics.
Mr. Satpathy said, he wants to quit politics and focus on journalism, as there is a scarcity of “fearless journalism” in Odisha.
Mr. Satpathy was the editor and owner of the the Odia daily, Dharitri, and the English daily, Oria Post.
According to sources, it is said, the decision was taken after the BJD denied giving a ticket to Mr. Satpathy to contest the elections in the Dhenkanal constituency. Mr. Satpathy was the former MP of the Dhenkanal constituency.
However, Satpathy denied the rumors and said, there is no political reason behind the retirement. He also thanked Naveen Patnaik, the Chief Minister of Odisha, who supported Satpathy during his political career in the BJD.
Tathagata joined politics and became a member of the Odisha Assembly in 1990 and remained so until 1995. He was also a MP from Odisha in the 14th, 15th and 16th Lok Sabha. He was a member of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD,) the ruling party in Odisha, as well. He also served as the Chief Whip of the BJD in the Lok Sabha.
Speaking about the decision, Satpathy said, another reason behind the decision was his 13 year old son, who convinced him to stay at home and start his journalism career again.
According to Tathagata Satpathy, there is a lack of social leadership in Odisha and he wants to raise his voice in the form of fearless journalism.
Mr. Satpathy’s retirement could prove to be a drawback to the Party in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Recently, Baijayant Panda, a MP of the BJD, quit the Party and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP.) The reason cited by Mr. Panda was issues with Naveen Patnaik.
The Lok Sabha elections are scheduled between April and May 2019 and the major parties contesting are the BJP and the INC.
Stay tuned for further updates about the Lok Sabha elections.
