Bhubaneswar: Former BJD leader Baijayant 'Jay' Panda on Tuesday met Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and urged her to accept his resignation from the membership of the House.

Panda, who was elected to the Lok Sabha from Kendrapara in 2014 on a BJD ticket, had resigned from the party on May 28 and then as a member of the Lok Sabha on June 12.

After meeting the Speaker, Panda on Wednesday tweeted: "As Parliament's monsoon session begins, i say adieu, after 18 yrs, 3 months, 2 wks & 1 day Met Hon' Speaker y'day & said i cannot represent my former party anymore, it has strayed too far from its original principles & so, requested her to accept my resignation from Lok Sabha."

The monsoon session of Parliament began on Wednesday and would continue till August 10. This was Panda's second meeting with Mahajan on the issue, the first being on July 5 when he had urged her to accept his resignation.

But Mahajan had reportedly asked him to reconsider the decision and even had told Panda that she would apply her mind on the issue before taking a decision. The Speaker is yet to take a call on the issue.

Panda's meeting Mahajan and making another request to accept his resignation comes in the backdrop of a growing perception in political circles that the Narendra Modi government might call for an early general election.

On July 10, BJD's leader in the Lok Sabha, Bhartruhari Mahatab had written to the Speaker to accept the resignation of Panda with immediate effect.

In his letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker, Mahatab had said: "Panda was elected to the Kendrapara Lok Sabha constituency of Odisha in the 2014 general elections on the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) symbol and party ticket. He has been consistently engaging himself in anti-party activities as a result of which the party was constrained to suspend him from the party, which fact was duly communicated to your august office."

He further informed the Lok Sabha Speaker about how Panda had voluntarily given up his primary membership of the BJD and resigned his Lok Sabha seat.

"Since he has voluntarily resigned from the BJD, he cannot continue as an MP as per the terms of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution of India pertaining to anti-defection provisions," Mahatab had said.

While Panda had been keeping his cards close to his chest, BJD leaders are of the view that the leader, known for his proximity with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will eventually join the BJP.

Since the Lok Sabha elections, if held according to usual schedule, are almost a year away, any vacancy now will have to be filled up by a bypoll. A decision will have to be taken by the Election Commission in this regard.

In another development, the two newly nominated Rajya Sabha members - sculptor Raghunath Mohapatra and Odissi exponent Sonali Mansingh - took oath on Wednesday.

After taking oath, Mohapatra said: "I have a dream to build a second Konark temple that will be known as Aditya Naryan Temple. It will send out a message that sculptors who had fashioned the original Konark temple had worked really hard and there is a need to train young sculptors today."