Bhubaneswar, Sept. 11: The slew of scams that have rocked the Odisha government in the past few months claimed its first victim today.

Kalpataru Das, who was chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s one-time confidant, resigned as BJD parliamentary party leader in the Rajya Sabha. Sources said his resignation was accepted with immediate effect and with a “sense of relief”.

The party leadership appointed hockey star Dillip Tirkey in his place.

Das, who called the shots in the BJD till a few months ago apparently handpicking party candidates in the last elections on behalf of Naveen, has been in the eye of a storm following charges of land grab of more than one government house under the discretionary quota against his family members.

The last nail in what appears to be Das’s political coffin was the quizzing of his son, Dharmshala MLA Pranab Balbantray by the CBI yesterday for his alleged links with the Artha Tatwa (AT) Group. If that was not enough, a vernacular daily today carried a picture showing Das in the company of Ranjan Das, one of the group’s founding members, who has also been interrogated by the CBI.

Once the eyes and ears of the chief minister, Das, who was the most visible face of the BJD and its most vocal spokesperson, had projected himself as a martyr for the party.

Alleging that he is targeted by certain individuals, who had been systematically tarnishing his image, Das said he decided to step down as the campaign against him was likely to damage the party and its leader.

“I have been loyal to my leader and the party and have worked sincerely. I don not want the image of my leader and the party to be tarnished,” he said in letter, which many believe, may become the epitaph of his political career which saw a sudden flourish in the past one year. During this period, he not only succeeded in worming his way into the coterie closest to the chief minister, but also almost turned himself into Naveen’s Major Domo.

But, the fall of Das has been just as meteoric as his rise. It all began with allegations of his family members including his MLA son having acquired more than one house and land plot under the controversial quota. Then came allegations of his son having bought seven acres in the name of a trust at Ghangapatna where dubious land deals were being made.

Though Das tried to brazen it out, his enemies within the party, he seems to have made many, ensured that he sunk deeper into the morass. With his son under the CBI scanner, the Rajya Sabha member is unlikely to regain the clout he once enjoyed in the ruling party.