Dikhyaa Mohanty 
Following his disastrous performance in the parliamentary election, BJD leader and former Kandhamal MP Achyuta Samanta todau declared his retirement from active politics. Even after leaving politics behind, he will carry on providing social services. Samanta, the BJD’s victorious candidate for the Lok Sabha from Kandhamal in 2019, met with party chief Naveen Patnaik on Saturday and announced his intention to leave politics.
He also expressed gratitude to the BJD president for providing him with the chance to represent Kandhamal as an MP. This election, Samanta ran from the same seat on a BJD ticket but was defeated by Sukant Kumar Panigrahi of the BJP. Samanta, the founder of KIIT and KISS, was chosen by the BJD to serve in the Rajya Sabha.
