Jogesh Singh said he has not yet decided which party he would join

Jogesh Singh, the MLA of Sundargarh in poll-bound Odisha, Tuesday resigned from the Odisha Assembly, two days after quitting the Congress.

Mr Singh met Odisha Assembly Speaker PK Amat and submitted his hand-written resignation letter to him.

With the resignation of Mr Singh, the number of Congress MLAs has come down to 14 in the 147-member House.

Replying to a question, Mr Singh said he has not yet decided which party he would join.

"I will consult my supporters in Sundergarh before taking any decision," he said.

Jharsuguda MLA and OPCC working president Naba Kishore Das has also resigned from the party on January 16. Though Mr Das has announced to resign as an MLA, he is yet to meet the Speaker.

Earlier in November, 2018, Koraput MLA Krushna Chandra Sagaria had quit the membership of the Assembly.

On January 18, Jogesh Singh sent his resignation to AICC president Rahul Gandhi on ''moral grounds'' after he was suspended by the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) for alleged anti-party activities.

The OPCC suspended Mr Singh after he publicly praised BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on several occasions.

He said, "I do not understand why the Congress suspended me. Is it wrong to praise the chief minister who has emerged as the number one in the country doing a lot of developmental works in my constituency?"

Prior to his suspension, the two-time MLA had also announced not to attend Rahul Gandhi's scheduled meeting in Bhubaneswar on January 25.