BJD Leader Pinaki Misra’s Marriage With TMC MP Stokes Familiar Bengal-Odisha Faultlines

When news of Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra (50) tying the knot with Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader and former MP Pinaki Mishra(65) in Germany was first announced in a Kolkata newspaper, mind you nearly a month after their marriage (on May 3), it was clear that the couple had officially wanted the world to know about it. A day later Mahua shared a picture of Pinaki and her cutting a cake on her X handle. Interestingly, the post was shared on TMC handle by party leader Abhishek Banerjee even as he was abroad on Operation Sindoor delegation. Looks like the news leak was timed with the private party that the couple threw for their friends in Delhi this week. Interestingly, what is worrying BJD leaders from Odisha is the manner in which Pinaki, who was a 4-term Lok Sabha MP from Puri and had been BJD Parliamentary Party leader, was being sidelined by the Bengal media. How can Kolkata media be so dismissive of the high networth BJD veteran with a poser like “who is Pinaki Misra?” BJD sources even wondered why Pinaki was getting bad press. While it may be true that Naveen Patnaik had denied Pinaki the Lok Sabha ticket in 2024 polls from Puri as his victory margin had been steadily declining, BJD sources felt it would be unfair to be dismissive of the Supreme Court lawyer. Party sources pointed out that Pinaki belonged to an eminent family of jurists — at least two from his family — Dr Ranganath Misra and his cousin Justice Dipak Misra went on to be CJI. His first wife, Sangeeta is a legal professional and hails from Maharashtra; they have two children.