Jajpur: The BJD leader, Pravat Kumar Balabantaray, resigned from the post of chairperson of Dharmasala block in Jajpur district on Wednesday.

The resignation of the two-time block chairperson comes just two days before the scheduled voting on a no-confidence motion against him.

Citing personal reasons, Pravat tendered his resignation and sent it to the Block Development Officer (BDO) of Dharmasala to accept it at the earliest.

The political tussle in Dharmasala block had intensified after 38 of its members of various panchayats submitted the no-confidence motion against the block chairperson to Jajpur Sub-Collector Tapas Ranjan Dehury on August 11. The Sub-Collector had fixed the date for voting on August 22 after verifying their signatures.

With Pravat being the brother of former Dharmasala MLA and senior BJD leader Pranab Kumar Balabantaray alias Jitu, the move is widely seen as a power struggle between Dharmasala MLA Himanshu Sekhar Sahu and the former legislator Jitu.

Dharmasala MLA Sahu had taken it as a challenge to remove Pravat from the post. Sensing his sure defeat due to mass defection, Pravat was forced to resign from the post of chairmanship on Wednesday.

After his resignation, Pravat said he took the decision in the interest of the safety and security of panchayat representatives. Pravat was elected as Dharmasala block chairperson twice in 2017 and 2022.