Bhubaneswar: The BJD on Saturday expelled former MLA Pravat Ranjan Biswal after he openly criticised the party leadership over its choices for the Rajya Sabha elections. In an office order, BJD vice-president (headquarters) Pratap Jena said Biswal had been expelled with immediate effect for “indiscipline” and “anti-party activities”. Earlier in the day, soon after BJD president Naveen Patnaik named Santrupt Misra and Datteswar Hota as the party’s Rajya Sabha nominees, Biswal had publicly expressed displeasure, saying long-serving party workers were being overlooked. Notably, Pravat’s son, Souvic Biswal, is a BJD MLA.
