Bhubaneswar: Rohit Joseph Tirkey, son of prominent tribal leader George Tirkey, joined the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) at the party’s headquarters, Sankha Bhawan, in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday.
He had unsuccessfully contested the 2019 elections from Biramitrapur Assembly constituency on a Congress ticket.
The BJD, which has announced MLA candidates for 72 seats, is yet to pick it nominee for Biramitrapur.
Rohit’s father is a four-time Biramitrapur MLA and he was earlier with the BJD from 2002 to 2006.
After resigning from Congress in April 2022, George had admitted that he had committed a blunder by quitting BJD in 2006. And it had gave credence to rumours that he might return to the regional party. The homecoming, however, never happened instead his son has been inducted into the Conch fold.
George had won twice from Birmitrapur in 1995 and 2000 on JMM ticket. After resigning from BJD, he won from Birmitrapur in 2009 as an Independent. He founded his own political party Samta Kranti Dal in 2014 and simultaneously won from Birmitrapur for the fourth time. He briefly returned to JMM before joining Congress in 2018.
Though he contested in 2019 from Sundargarh Lok Sabha seat on Congress ticket with his politically novice son Rohit as the party candidate from Birmitrapur Assembly seat, they both lost the elections.
Earlier in the day, former Salepur MLA Prakash Chandra Behera and Bhrugu Baxipatra had joined the BJD after quitting BJP.
