Bhubaneswar: Citing the involvement of Manjutala Mandal and Muktikanta Mandal in anti-party activities, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has suspended them.

An order issued today by the party’s Vice President Pratap Jena stated the suspension was carried out on the instructions of party President Naveen Patnaik, and takes effect immediately.

Manjutala Mandal was serving as a State Council Member of the BJD, while Muktikanta Mandal was a district-level leader from Bhadrak.

Manjutala had been elected as the party’s MP from Bhadrak in 2019, and Muktikanta Mandal is a former MLA from Dhamnagar.

Reacting to the development, Muktikanta Mandal said he had no prior information about the suspension.