today named as the leader of the BJD's Parliamentary Party in the Rajya Sabha.
"Sri Sashibhusan Behera is elected as the BJD's leader in
the Rajya Sabha while Mangala Kisan will perform as the party's whip in the upper house of the Parliament," said BJD President Naveen Patnaik after a meeting of Rajya Sabha MPs at Naveen Niwas here.
Renubala Pradhan will function as the secretary of the BJD's Parliamentary party in Rajya Sabha, Patnaik said.
Behera replaced senior MP Pyari Mohan Mohapatra who had
last week resigned from the post due to lack of communication between him and Patnaik. Mohapatra was earlier suspended from the party for his alleged attempt to topple Patnaik government on May 29.
The party has seven MPs in Rajya Sabha and 14 members in the Lok Sabha.
