Former Kakatpur MLA Rabi Mallick resigned from the primary membership of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Friday.
He tendered his resignation to party president Naveen Patnaik without mentioning any reason. He also stepped down as a Member of the State Planning Board.
It was obvious that he quit the party as he was ignored in the selection of poll candidate for the Kakatpur seat.
The BJD has fielded Surendra Sethi as its nominee for Kakatpur.
There are speculations that Mallick may join the BJP to become the party candidate in Kakatpur. The BJP is yet to announce its nominee for the seat.
Notably, Rabi Mallick had contested the polls from the Kakatpur seat on BJD ticket in the 2009 elections won the elections by a margin of 15,221 votes.